Human Mass
by webxro
Summary: Humanity is the oldest civilization in the galaxy and has already fallen once to the reapers. Join Shepard on his crazy crusade to end the reapers.
1. Human Mass I

Disclaimer: Mass effect belongs to Bioware and/or EA (and not to the author of the fiction) any other elements of this respective fiction belong to their respective owners and not to the author of the fiction.

AN: This is my first time writing fiction, be gentle. I am a big fan of technology so a small part of it at least it plausible. The year system is intended to be a bit confusing but I wanted a similar time-line with the original universe. Also I know it seems 'yay humans' but they are the only species that appear in the first chapter.

**BETA'D: I HAVE A BETA, go and hug The Wistful Bloom and say thanks for fixing the story.**

* * *

><p>Preview<p>

"We both know the humans are a threat to the galaxy. They must pay for killing my brother, they must be stopped for all of our sakes."

"We have a ship designed for stealth, with systems so advanced that we could easily infiltrate the most heavily guarded areas of the citadel. We have a spectre that is uncannily ninja-like, and the launch schedule of the ship was moved three weeks in advance. No shit! We clearly have a genius on our hands."

"I fail to see how this is my fault. Every single action I took was perfectly thought out, and did not cause, in any way, the damage you accuse me of."

"Finally, here we are. A few more minutes, and I would've tried mag-boots on the tower."

"Your deal was with me, and I will keep my promise and not shoot you. You should be glad that I don't have time get the omniblade out and play a lovely game of vivisection. Did you know that the liver is my favorite internal organ?"

"These are the voyages of the starship Normandy, in its continuing mission to find old life and civilization."

* * *

><p>"The humans of old tortured and killed their gods. Horrified by their actions, the gods never walked the Earth again."<p>

2025 AD

Humanity's interest in space is rekindled and they start new exploration missions to the moon.

2069 AD

The first human permanent settlement is established on the Luna (Sol III-B). The event is planned to coincide with the first moon landing.

2075 AD

Cryogenic hibernation is developed and perfected to help the exploration of the solar system- reducing the amount of resources a long-term mission would require.

2090 AD

Computing power allows the creation of artificial intelligence. The programming necessary to properly create one unit makes the process expensive, and greatly limits the use to only several scientific AI. Development of conscience is considered, but not followed up after the protests of Human Rights organizations.

2103 AD

The first permanent outpost is formally formed on Mars (Sol IV).

2304 AD

Laser weapons technology is properly developed.

2416 AD

Human prospectors looking for minerals for asteroid mining discover a new element in the asteroid belt. Scientists rush to investigate the new element, and name it element 'zero'.

2522 AD

Members of the revived club "Pluto is a Planet" try to establish a base there, and discover that Pluto's satellite is a station of alien construction. It is quickly classified as Sol IX-B.

2525 AD

Scientists determine that the device is a FTL catapult. Unmanned ships are built and sent forward to explore, looking for more habitable planets to colonize.

2588 AD

All unmanned ships return and four habitable planets are discovered. More planets are detected outside of the network, but are rendered inaccessible by the lack of FTL.

The network of FTL catapults is suspected to be larger but the unmanned ships have no way to activate them.

2596 AD

Colony ships are built for the discovered planets and the biggest one, the great colony ship Atlantis, containing 25 million humans in cryogenic hibernation. Equipped with the Heritage database containing the entire scientific and cultural knowledge, all is guarded by an AI to watch over the sleeping colonists and every tool they would need to develop a civilization away from Earth until the development of FTL.

2597 AD

All colony ships except Atlantis are launched. Atlantis' launch date is postponed to after the opening of a large and newly discovered catapult relay. Several groups protest about keeping the people on Atlantis in cryogenic hibernation.

2601 AD

The catapult replay is opened and ships appear from, it killing everyone in their path. After hearing this news the Atlantis AI sinks the ship still on Earth into the deepest part of the ocean. The hull bends under the pressure of the ocean, but resists. The AI sacrifices himself to save the Heritage database, leaving only a small message behind and inducing a malfunction in the command level cryogenic containment.

2613 AD

After killing all sentient life and removing all traces of technology they could find, the reapers decide to relocate the system mass relay and ones nearby to systems with species that will approach sentience. Sol is removed from post-harvest scan for ten million years.

Four million years later, a small malfunction of the cryogenic hibernation alerts the command section, waking up one of the officers. Who, following protocol, wakes up the captain. The captain of the ship finds the message the AI left.

"Aliens attacked and killed everyone; Atlantis hidden underwater to give humanity a chance to rebuild."

The captain brought Atlantis to the surface and woke the first batch of settlers. The entire system of Atlantis was designed to work in tiers; with farmers and low level engineers first, and everyone else gradually awakened when they were needed. They received a briefing, and a small speech. A few lines of the speech were forever remembered in the history pads.

"Humanity was destroyed, but we have risen from our ashes like a phoenix. We will rebuild, recover, and rise again to the stars. This time we will be ready when leaving our system, we will be ready to fight any and every threat. Humanity will never fall, and we will never forget our past. Earth is a blank slate, without the mistakes of the past- let us rise again."

0020 After Rise of Atlantis

The last group was awakened, the 'base' cities partially constructed. Each 'base' city had been built over the locations of the great cities of the old humans, to honour them.

0030 ARS

Mining and heavy industry are fully established, eliminating the reliance on Atlantis' systems.

0090 ARS

The established leaders of the new city states decide to focus on science, and set incentives to help the population numbers grow.

0091 ARS

Great universities are built to educate the future scientists. Families with more than three children receive accolades from the government.

0322 ARS

Researching the few animals that had evolved since the disappearance of the old humans reveals a species of mice that don't age past maturity. While useless to the mice, the same effects are extremely desirable to society.

The media is delighted to announce the beginnings of research into gleaning these properties for human use.

0364 ARS

Gene therapy is developed from the mice, and deployed. But the therapy proves unsuccessful, because the brain begins to deteriorate after a certain age and memory loss remains a large issue. This inspires a new wave of scientists to try to find a solution to offer 'immortality' after the so called 'youth serum' has failed.

Old technology from the Heritage database may offer essential information regarding the uploading of a conscience to a machine. Proposals are put forwards for the hybridization of the youth serum and upload technology; to allow for the storage of memories and to avoid an 'overflow' of information and memory retention to the brain.

0575 ARS

The computer systems are finally small enough after the development of bio-computers. The program, now called the 'Fountain of Youth', allows humans to (theoretically) live forever: if they do not suffer terminal illnesses, die from disease, or are not seriously harmed by external factors.

0969 ARS

The beginning of a great return to space, and the beginning of the building of space habitats orbiting the planet. Plans follow, to build a shipyard and re-establish the mines in the asteroid belt.

1043 ARS

Primary outpost set on the moon.

FTL catapult noted to be missing by unmanned probes, suspected connection between alien attack and FTL catapult. Paranoid government bans all research into this.

1201 ARS

Mars terraforming plan launched, expecred to last 500 years. A similar plan is considered (but dismissed) for Venus.

1334 ARS

Nanotechnology and development in genetic engineering removes all diseases, making an average human lifespan theoretically unlimited (though external factors such as serious injuries caused by the self, others, or accidents would still cause death).

1431 APS

Plasma fusion reactor technology developed.

1800 ARS

Mass exodus to Mars to escape the now overcrowded Earth. Venus is avoided due to over-expensive terraforming cost, and the proximity to the sun.

1923 ARS

Big quantities of element zero are found in several asteroids. This allows scientists to build faster sub-light engines, reducing the Mars-to-Earth travel time to eight hours, and allowing for cheap and reliable means of transport.

Plans for using sub-light engines to colonize nearby star systems are drawn, but shelved by public unrest caused by fear of the unknown.

2012 ARS

The decision to build several space stations orbiting the Sun, following Earth's trajectory and speed, intends to solve future habitable space problems.

2401 ARS

The method for creating new materials and metals from plasma is developed, and the machines are named 'mass converters'. Mining becomes obsolete, as high pressure and temperature allows the creation of every chemical element. An unexpected side-effect of using huge mass converters is the creation of Element Zero.

2430 ARS

It is discovered that nodes in the nervous system allows manipulation of a mass effect field. Most people choose to have access to these abilities. Suppressors are created to limit the ability of criminal individuals.

2665 ARS

A new synthetic metal is created that generates electrons. The new metal is named 'Naquadah' and becomes the most important element after eezo because of its capabilities. One of the best uses proves to be very cheap superconductors, if it is unrefined. Highly refined 'Naq' is used to increase power generation.

2668 ARS

New alloy is discovered by scientists trying to outdo the team that discovered Naquadah. The new alloy seems to be ultra light and very resistant. The name chosen for it is Trinium.

2710 ARS

Methods of producing space-based plasma weapons is developed, though it is only effective when combining Naquadah, Trinium and eezo technology.

Military rushes to create weapon platforms and defense starships.

2714 ARS

Research reveals a method to create plasma based shielding device for starship.

2811 ARS

Following democratic votes, the new government named the 'System Alliance' is created.

22441 ARS

Older people start to get tired of life. A huge mainframe is built under the crust of the Earth to house the uploaded consciences of people who have decided to stop living. The mainframe is named MIND.

Venus and Mercury are avoided, due to low amounts of matter for mass converters and their proximity to the sun.

Space-lifting of materials from gas giants begins to fuel mass converters.

Jokes with probing Uranus start appearing.

73541 ARS

Space-lifting matter from gas giants to feed mass converters has lended to the disappearance of Uranus and Neptune. Saturn and Jupiter are next on the list.

92324 ARS

Wormhole technology allows for fixed point-to-point, instantaneous transfer between any two points in the universe. The machine used to create the wormhole is named 'stargate'.

120417 ARS

True FTL technology is discovered, named hyperspace. The technology allows the ships to travel in another dimension.

Government decides to change the year system to 'After Hyperspace'.

The alliance Navy decides to postpone all exploration until they are ready to fight any alien menace. New ships, weapon platforms, and ground weapons are designed.

Engineering corps starts building Earth a great docking ring connected by six space elevators with weapons, great energy shields and *** Classified *** Hyperspace engine ***Classified***

815 AH

Armstrong docking ring is finished. Building plans start to appear about outfitting every other station in the System Alliance on these specifications.

900 AH

Plans for huge gates to hyperspace that allow instant travel between colonies are drawn. The gates will be made from interlocking parts, all built to the same standards.

1200 AH

Colony ships are being designed and built for future projects, and the stations are finished refitting. Plans emerge to move the biggest and heavily armed station to another system, giving Sol another layer of defense in the planned Hyperspace Gate network.

2140 AH

Unmanned hyperspace capable probes are built and sent to scout nearby systems.

2142 AH

A decision is taken to replace every FTL catapult found with hyperspace gates. Protocol is established to activate any inactive catapult and scout the other side, replacing them with hyperspace gates if no threat is discovered.

2150 AH

Several colonies are established, including Eden Prime, Terra Nova and Shanxi are among them. Shanxi is established by private company, with low-level orbital defenses.

2157 AH

Remote-controlled ships are sent to open the so called 314 FTL catapult.

* * *

><p><span>Codex<span>

Cryogenic hibernation – a technology created to allow long periods of hibernation, requiring no power or maintenance after the initial power consumption. This piece of tech allowed humans to move across the solar system in the times when at their sub-light maximum speed it took 1 month from Earth to Pluto. While no longer needed, humanity still considers this one of their most brilliant discoveries because it was cryogenic hibernation that saved their race from aliens and kept them alive inside Atlantis until they rose again. Cryogenic hibernation can also be used on anything and everything from food supplies to hand weapons.

Laser weapons – The laser-based weapons, while proven non-effective for long range space weaponry, have proven very good for ground troops and as fighter weapons. The weapon has seen use as a law enforcement tool since its humble beginning when the ionized particle pathway the laser created was used to deliver a 1400 volt 3.5 Ampere electric that would shock and stun the target.

FTL Catapult (also called by council species Mass Relay) – A station using eezo to push (catapult) ships over great distance. The relay works by reducing the mass while providing a mass accelerated pathway, and then offering a big mass push. The mass relay forms a massive galactic network allowing instant travel between systems. Until contact between citadel community and humanity, the mass relays were believed to be the biggest achievement of the protheans. A recent study has show that these constructions have as a hull a trinium-carbon composition that, while it resists kinetic impact better, it is much weaker against plasma weapons.

Atlantis – Originally intended to colonize a planet and build a civilization without any help from Earth, that would wait until contact could be made. The iconic ship saved humanity and help them rebuild their fallen race. Some human historians consider the name ironic, because Atlantis sank in the ocean following a great catastrophe that killed the entire human race.

Youth serum – Genetic therapy developed by studying the Methuselah mice. This treatment cures aging, as a side effect it also prevents any and all natural and random cellular and DNA mutations. While some considered it a blessing, it was discovered that long life would cause long-term memory problems, so other complementary technology was needed to make the youth serum a viable solution to eternal life. In theory it could increase human life upwards to 400-500 years before memory damage would become severe. Salarians had shown interest in acquiring the research data or sample of the youth serum.

Fountain of youth – The program that gives humans true immortality, it consists of youth serum and extra component to manage memories. In the beginning, biological nano computers and later quantum computer are used for this task, human media speculates other options exists but are kept classified. While this program offers humans a body not touched by time and a brain that can truly store and retain memories and information for a lifetime, long life becomes tiresome and dull.

Plasma reactor – Described as a miniature star, the fusion reactor keeps super heated plasma contained until nuclear fusion between hydrogen atoms fuse- creating helium. Plasma reactors became cheaper and more efficient after the discovery of naq. While human have access to antimatter and singularity power generators, the use of plasma reactors in weapons and mass convertors means that System Alliance sees no reason to change it for the foreseeable future.

Mass converters – Considered by the citadel council the most important and powerful invention of humanity the mass converters are giant plasma fusion reactors with huge gravity created inside by eezo coils. Any element with a bigger atomic mass than sodium created inside mass converters has as result trace amounts of element zero as coating. The most cost effective way to create element zero in a mass converters is to create naq as primary element, because it creates the biggest coating of eezo as side effect.

Naquadah (short naq) – A metal with a higher number of protons then electrons and no neutrons that is seemingly able to create electrons. This dvi-alkaline metal has baffled scientists with its proprieties and stability since it was discovered. Not even today can scientists tell how the electron creation works; only that it works. Naq is currently the baseline for all human technology.

Trinium – As the name suggest this alloy is composed from three chemical elements and it has nearly 140 times (mohs 12.3) the strength of titanium and much lighter. Discovered in specially built mass converters by a team trying to 'outdo' the naq creators, this alloy was first considered a failure because of crumbling result tests, but computer simulations have shown that refining impurities generates a very resistant substance on the same grade with carbon nano-tubes. Often considered the metallic version of diamond, Trinium is the baseline for any construction in system alliance and is currently in high demand in the entire citadel space.

Plasma Accelerated Cannon (also PAC) – The PAC works by removing a portion of the super heated plasma inside a plasma reactor and putting it in a magnetic firing chamber to be pushed down a trinium enforce tube and propelled by magnetic-gravity explosion generated by eezo coils and naq electromagnets. The extreme heat and speed allow PAC's to burn into any armor and the plasma projective keeping the magnetic proprieties magnetizes parts of the hull hit creating problems at the internal systems of the targeted ship. Overpowering the naq electromagnets while lowering the temperature of the plasma projectile is a proven method to disable enemies. The two major downsides of any PAC are that it cannot fire in the atmosphere of a planet otherwise the heat would dissipate into literary thin air and that it requires a plasma reactor.

Plasma Shield– Combining eezo kinetic barriers and naq magnetic coils the plasma shield surrounds the entire ship in a high temperature plasma cloak burning everything the kinetic barriers don't stop and creating more plasma from everything burned. Initially considered an idiotic idea to add something so hot close to the hull of the ship the extensive use of magnetic coils makes this a very effective defense platform. While powerful the process of raising shields is a slow process taking between 4 to 7 minutes.

Stargate – The stargate is a device that generates a wormhole by harnessing dark energy provided from a large amount of element zero. One of the greatest creations of humans the stargate allows instant transportation between any 2 connected components for as long as power is provided. The minimum distance between stargate of 3 kilometers and the one direction of travel have done little to lower the use of this marvelous creation.

Hyperspace Gates – A massive circle built from 42 individual segments designed to work together creating a gate into hyperspace to another fixed hyperspace gate. Each segment has thick trinium armor and is powered by a mini singularity ensuring that it will never run out of power while keeping the gate opened and ensuring travel both ways. The hyperspace gate network complements and in some locations replaces the mass relay network is considered humanity's gift for the future races of the galaxy.

System(s) Alliance (SA for short) – The System(s) Alliance is the overarching government of the human race often considered all-powerful by the population.

System Alliance Parliament- Defined in the System Alliance constitution as composed from 200 elected officials. Each space station/planet/ship gaining one seat for every 0.5% from the total human population (regulations allow alliance between minor space stations/ships to gain a seat). Each representant is elected for a period of 2 years but he/she cannot candidate for the next 3 elections.

Alliance Navy – The main space based military of System alliance the Alliance Navy is considered by many the most destructive military power of the galaxy. The main duty of the Alliance Navy is to defeat any space base treat. The navy is continuously in friendly completion with the other 2 military powers of the System Alliance in development, recruiting and budget. Surprisingly the navy has 5 seats in the alliance parliament.

Alliance Army – The ground forces of system alliance, not to be confused with the marines. The duty of the Alliance Army is to protect any ground based location. The army uses projectiles as main weapons and all army armors have strength enhancing servomotors. As the most numerous ground forces the army has transport ships with heavy use of defense and next to no offense. Due to budget cuts only 3 seats in the Alliance Parliament.

Alliance Air Force – The Air Force offensive power is fighter based using disposable fighters and bomber controlled by pilots deep inside heavy fortified carriers. The only military force of the galaxy that uses antimatter torpedoes the offensive power of the air force is immense and the carrier is the biggest ship type known in the galaxy, period. Due to the number of personnel maintaining carriers and the big number of pilots the air force has 4 seats in the parliament.

Human – From planet Earth, are mostly based in the solar system but rapidly expanding outwards from the crowded system. Humans heavily use genetic manipulation giving them skin colors from violet to red and have the biggest genetic diversity in all species known by citadel council. Considering the long life of humans most of them have served in military in at least one of the 3 forces.

* * *

><p>AN: The very first thing I regret is the lack of a beta or an English speaker to spell-check this. The second is that I am not a good writer but I am a nice reader and wanted to see how some ideas look on paper and not in my crazy head, also notice the lack of dialog, that's because I don't like OC. For those thinking Earth is overpowered, yes it might be true, but any elder race is supposed to be strong. The story has multiple elements 'borrowed' from other universes, extra cookie for who knows all references.<p>

About the reaper attacking after the relay is opened, well maybe the relay the humans opened was one right to the citadel in the middle of a 'harvest'. The idea is that the current humans have no idea who killed their previous civilization only that they are somehow connected to the aliens that killed their previous civilization. Curious if my disclaimer is legal.

Awaiting opinions and reviews FLAMERS ALLOWED.


	2. Human Mass II

Disclaimer: Mass effect belongs to Bioware and/or EA (and not to the author of the fiction) any other elements of this respective fiction belong to their respective owners and not to the author of the fiction.

Warning: This chapter contains immature jokes, several innuendos, shameless references and violent accidental death of one turian.

AN: I was thinking about disclaimers, did any of you notice how sounds like 'this I claim'. As another idea to think about while reading, why is it that the vast majority of first contact wars I've read put the turian part in a bad light?

**BETA'D: I HAVE A BETA, go and hug The Wistful Bloom and say thanks for fixing the story.**

* * *

><p>"The humans of old looked at their biggest natural predator and decided to tame them. Shortly after, the wild animal became known as their dearest friend."<p>

Adrien Victus was having a good day. He was returning from destroying a heavily fortified slaver base, the three dreadnaughts and their battle group had made the mission easy. While always happy to fight against slavery, most of the time the 'red tape' had stopped him from doing so. Only if the council would allow more missions like this, he was sure the Turian Hierarchy could eliminate most of the slavery outside Batarian space.

"Damn batarians, always complaining like crying pyjaks." An officer walked onto the fleet command bridge, "I can hear them now, complaining about such important things, like sovereign spaceand cultural heritage."

"General?" The officer tried to get his attention, "sir, the scout frigates reported an unknown fluctuation with a dormant relay on long-range sensors. The labs believe a local race might try to open it."

"Damn fools. Who knows what horrors they could inflict upon the galaxy? The Citadel council is not ready to fight another Rachni war." Rising from his seat, the general turned to the communication officer of the fleet control bridge "Give me fleet-wide."

"Attention all ships. We are preparing to engage an unknown enemy, trying to open a dormant relay. They must be stopped at all costs. All ships are ordered to change course to the given coordinates. Cruisers and dreadnaughts try and keep formation, frigates move into one fleet and maximum speed while maintaining formation."

The general could see the problems with this already.

The frigates would get there two hours before the rest of the fleet, though they might stop the unknown ships from opening the relay. This was possibly a first contact event, but following proper procedure would take far longer and would not stop the aliens from opening the relay. Contacting the council would be the advisable thing to do in, but the council would simply let them open the relay and then send a diplomatic team. That was exactly what they would do; put the entire galaxy in danger while dismissing any suggestion of a threat.

He reasoned that he should, at least, contact the turian councilor and inform him of the situation.

"Vakarian, give me a link to the turian councilor."

"Will you take it here, or in the briefing room?" Asked the communication officer, while starting the long process of getting past the citadel bureaucracy. Damn spectres, getting direct lines and all the other benefits, he thought, sourly.

"Briefing room, some of this might go beyond your rank."

Several long minutes later, and he was finally linked.

"Councilor," Victus began, "it is getting increasingly difficult to reach you past your line of secretaries and assistants." He couldn't leave the annoyance out of his voice- whiling away precious time for a single member of the ruling body. Damn it, turian lives could be at stake. In the time it took him to respond, we could've lost good ships and men.

Sparatus, he was tired, dressed in his nightwear, but the advanced cosmetic VI would make sure his hologram would appear perfectly dressed and presentable.

"It's twenty past three in the morning. Get to the point, general. I am certain you didn't call me in the middle of the night to tell me about your hated for politics." Being woken in the middle of the night to converse with an insolent general with a distaste for politics wasn't particularly appeasing to Sparatus. 'I hope this idiot doesn't intend to keep me here all night with paranoid talk about space monsters using mind control to rule the batarians. We have dismissed that claim too many times already.'

"We have found what we think to be a previously unknown race trying to open a dormant relay. I have already dispatched the fleet to stop them from putting us all at risk. Citadel Council orders outrank Hierarchy protocol in a first contact event. But I still request permission to investigate if the new race is a threat to citadel space."

"I doubt this is a new race. They might be slavers, looking for easy prey, or a terminus race trying to elevate themselves. You have my permission." Responded Sparatus, eager to return to his warm bed and rest. In the coming days he would assume that 'no news is good news'.

"Understood." Victus replied, before cutting the connection.

Moving to the command deck, the general looked at the tactical map. The frigates had nearly reached the relay.

"Sir, the frigates are approaching the target. Want me to get a link to the frigate fleet communication channel?" Asked the same communication officer, seeing the general was back in his chair.

"Go ahead."

"This is the turian frigate Sarus. Wspan style="font-style:normal;"e are trying to contact the unknown vessels in the hope that they will stop opening the relay and initiate first contact procedures with us." The officer paused momentarily, "no reply. Proceeding to open fire" All turian vessels opened fire on the unarmed and unmanned vessels. "Targets eliminated. Sensors show a garden world in this system."

"Reroute the cruiser and dreadnaught fleet, and have the frigate fleet rejoin us on a vector that will lead the battle group. Actually- tell the frigate fleet to leave one ship behind to analyze the wreckage. We are heading into the unknown, and we need information. Prepare shuttles and marines, and tell them to stand by; we might need to send ground forces to force them to surrender." Commanded the general, his mind already considering battle strategies and ground invasion plans. He even considered the need for food- as the new species might not be dextro, and he would require supplies; this was a large fleet engaged in an extensive siege. Considering that attacking a species as first contact would be something the batarians would do, and thinking again about batarians complaining about 'cultural heritage', he decided to at least try and reason with the aliens.

* * *

><p>The Alliance Navy Command "Arcturus", recently relocated in the Arcturus system<p>

The admiral's meeting room was filled with noise as more and more admirals gathered for the emergency session; some present in person and some as holograms, and every one of them wondering why there even was an emergency session. Most of the time this room was the place for war-games, friendly grudge matches, and taunts between old buddies.

"Gentlemen," said a hologram in the middle of the chamber- trying to draw their attention. It was the AI of Alliance Navy Flagship, and by tradition the speaker for the admiral meeting room. They called her Rommie, and while it irritated her, she accepted it (because Romanadvoratrelundar was rather hard for them to pronounce). "Thirty four minutes ago, unmanned probes trying to map relay 314 were attacked by an alien fleet comprised of small vessels. This meeting is being held to determine the actions of the Alliance Navy."

A redheaded woman pressed a button on her station, signalling that she wanted to speak.

"The room recognizes Hannah Shepard." Rommie announced.

"I would like to propose that we dispatch a regiment of marines to secure the ground, maybe even make it a joint operation with the army, since they most likey sent soldiers via stargate. Cooperation between branches of the military promotes a sense of camaraderie." Her face seemed to be filled with light and kindness while proposing this- and then rather suddenly an evil smirk graced her lips. A smirk which chilled the spines of most males in the room, and reminded everybody of her cruel tendencies. "Plus, we'll look better than those dirty maggots if we lend them a helping hand."

Rommie decided to intervene before Hannah Shepard started another spiteful monologue. "Your suggestion has been noted. Please vote." The AI took a small pause, waiting for the admirals to vote. 'Now to wait for an eternity. Organics move so slowly- but they have their uses. They built me such a nice body; the newest carrier AI told me I have the nicest engines, and he loved my big PAC racks.' Looking at the time subroutine, she noticed that 0.002 seconds had passed. 'Hive Todd has big fighter production facilities. Maybe I should set up a private call...' 3.845 seconds. There were still 6.157 seconds left. 'Maybe I should contact my sister EDI, and make fun of her for still being a training facility AI. Organics are still as slow as ever. Maybe I should take a look at the sensors for any nice ships... there isn't any ship nicer than me, and if they claim otherwise then they can kiss my engine. If the proposal passes, maybe I should add Hannah's kid in the team sent to Shanxi. It would be only fair, since she proposed the idea. Damn... it will take me an entire second to fake the random selection of troops.'

"The suggestion has passed. Messages have been sent to the troops automatically selected for the mission. The room recognizes the admiral of the Forty-Second fleet."

"I would like to suggest we order the orbital weapon platforms to automatically open fire on any ship not carrying friendly IFF. This should keep enemy ships from landing, and hopefully destroy or hold any attacking fleet until our ships arrive on the scene." Most people in the room considered this a sound decision, and would have suggested a similar idea.

"Suggestion noted. Please vote." As the admirals started pushing buttons, Rommie allow her artificial thoughts to wander, something she did much too often. 'I could use Arcturus to take extensive scans of the exterior of PAC's, and send them to Todd with 'xoxo the best ship around Triangulum'... If I'm doing scans, let's send EDI a scan of my point defence that the organics painted green, adding 'kiss my 500 degrees Kelvin engine'. Being the best ship around is so difficult sometimes.'

"Suggestion passed. Messages have been sent to Shanxi colonial control. Admiral Hackett is recognized by the room."

"I am taking my personal ship Triangulum, since is she our flagship, and we should have the best for any first contact. Along with the Fifth Fleet, any fleets wanting to join are free to do so. The Air Force has requested escorts for one of their Hive carriers. We will leave in three hours, the travel time to Shanxi is a little over an hour. fontFor any details, have your ship's AI ask Rommie. Hackett out." With the last words out of his mouth he moved from the chair and walked out the door.

The meeting continued long after Hackett left; though several propositions were rejected with Rommie voting in his place.

* * *

><p>Turian Battle Group<p>

Finally, the battle group was united with the frigates filling the gaps. The entire fleet was heading to the garden class planet to investigate the new race.

A small though was itching at the back of general Victus' mind. 'The easy destruction of the ships trying to activate the relay implies that while they have ships, they're not going to put up a fight. Yes... things should be easy.' He tried to reassure himself. Though, it didn't really work- because just minutes ago he had read the preliminary investigations of the wreckage. It was showing no bodies, and no escape shuttles. For all he knew, attacking those ships had just attracted the attention of a race of synthetics worse than The geth... 'Stop thinking like would have no need for a planet like this.'

Suddenly, the map showed several stations surrounding the planet- firing projectiles at his fleet. He viewed the holographic representation, as one of the projections cut a frigate in half, and continued to punch a hole in a cruiser. It barely missed a dreadnaught. Immediate orders were sent to the ships to spread out. Damage reports from the first salvo showed fourteen cruisers and twenty eight frigates had been destroyed.

Using the map he selected a single station as primary target, using the entire firepower of the fleet to take the enemy one by one.

"Sir, the targeted enemy station has showed no damage from the combined attack."

"Order the fleet to retreat on multiple vectors, while trying evasive maneuvers. Tell them to meet us here." Said Victus, pointing towards the system's asteroid belt.

"Sir... what is the meaning of this? Are you planning to use asteroid warfare to bombard the planet?" The communications officer asked.

"Do you trust me, Vakarian?" Asked the general.

"With the lives of my children, sir." Responded the officer, starting to thinking of his children Garrus and Solana . 'Some days, I think I should have joined C-sec... yes, I would not serve the Hierarchy directly, but the security of the citadel would still be an important job. And, being stuck behind a desk means you live long enough to see your children grow up.'

"Then follow my orders, and we will live." Victus reassured him, "give me fleet-wide."

"Done, sir."

"This is General Victus. evacuate the three most damaged cruisers and transfer crew and control to dreadnaughts. I want the FTL on two cruisers overloaded to give the maximum amount of power and push, and overload the sublight engines on the remaining cruiser. All marines go into shuttles and await deployment. You will be split into two teams: the first will execute fire control, led by Desolas Arterius. The second team, led by Saren Arterius will run infiltration strikes against important locations, with your main priority being the disruption of orbital stations."

A beeping announced that the cruisers were ready. Selecting a big enough asteroid for his goal, from the tactical map he gently landed the two FTL ships, one at the north extremity and the other one at the south extremity. The sublight engine one was pushed into a crevice in the middle of the asteroid, entering more than half and destroying the hull in the process. Good riddance. What he was doing would destroy the cruisers, anyway.

Using the holographic tactical map, he set the location for each ship, and he sent the orders to each shuttle pilot- indicating the speed route to take, and for them to prepare to launch the plan.

"Vakarian, give me a link to Saren and Desolas." He only had to wait a moment, "Saren, Desolas you know your orders. I want Desolas to fly straight above the secondary town, where the orbital weapons won't fire. Saren will have the harder task of doing drunken pyjak maneuvers with his shuttles to avoid being targeted, while landing in the mountain region between the primary and secondary city. This will allow him to strike at the center, while you attract the attention of the enemy. I want to let you know that after you are deployed the fleet will retreat to turian space to bring reinforcements and more ships. We are counting on you to knock out the orbital platform, or at least obtain us some information on how to do so."

"We won't let you down, general." Saren responded, encouraged by seeing such a great general having enough faith to carry.

Victus turned off the comm. link to the two brothers and turned to the fleet-wide link.

"Time to put the plan into action. Engage."

Immediately the fleet executed an in-system FTL jump to the designated coordinates, the three dreadnaughts acting like the tips of a triangle and leaving a large space between them (each ship trying to take minimum damage). Suddenly, phase two of the plan started and the asteroid jumped into the gap between the three big ships. The engines of the sublight cruiser started pushing the asteroid towards the central weapon platform. After flying past the fleet line, shuttles launched from the dreadnaughts- following the safe path behind the asteroid (which was now getting the full attention of every weapon platform in the area). Finally close enough to the weapon platform, the shuttles left the safe place and sprinted towards the planet. What Victus didn't count on was that one of the weapon platforms had changed priorities to the shuttles, hitting several of them and grazing the shuttle Saren was in.

Noting the loss of several shuttles, the general sent the signal for retreat and the battle group left the system. By an odd coincidence, several minutes later the System Alliance navy arrived in the system.

* * *

><p>Triangulum Bridge<p>

Steven Hackett was one of the oldest humans alive. Other people his age would have joined MIND. But no, he was one of the few people that learned to take pleasure in waiting. After all, patience was a virtue. He was sat in his golden chair, an anonymous gift for his last anniversary. It had come with a note 'for my favorite chief minion, from your superior'. But nobody, not even the ship AI, was able to find out who had sent it.

"We've arrived, Steve." Said Rommie, establishing a communication link with the other AI's of the fleet.

"I can see that. Signal the fleet to spread out and scan for enemy ships. The Triangulum will head for the planet to deal with any alien ships." He was not particularly happy to be referred to as 'Steve', but it was better than minion, organic or organic minion... or any other from the hundreds of demeaning words Romanadvoratrelundar used when she was angry at the crew.

Approaching the planet, the wreckage of the previous orbital battle could be seen.

"Rommie, if you would be so kind, contact Governor Williams and ask what has happened here. I would be grateful. Science teams should start scanning and analyzing the wreckage, make sure they have everything they need. Use the stargate we have on board to ask for more personnel, if necessary. " Said Hackett, waiting for the report.

"Governor Williams is on the line, Steve." Rommie announced.

"Glad to see the aliens didn't breach our defences governor. Can you tell me what happened here?"

"The aliens attacked without contacting us, or demanding surrender. The orbital weapon platform opened fire and they retreated. After returning with an asteroid some of them managed to get past the defence grid and land in the secondary city, long after we were finished evacuating the site using the stargate. Now I have aliens on the ground, at less than a week's walk from here. I should have known to command those anti-air towers for all towns." Said the governor; who held the belief humans were the owners of this galaxy, not some wannabe cheap-shots that lacked sufficient defense on most of their starships.

"Calm down, governor. I am sure that the army will defend the primary city. Actually, tell the army to only defend the primary city. We will study the enemy a day or two at ground, and see how they behave- how they act without constraints. After that, we can launch the joint operation Hannah Shepard proposed and capture them for interrogation. Hackett out." Said the admiral, and he cut the connection.

"Contact carrier Todd and tell them to put all sensors on the secondary city. Have a team of psychologists analyze their behavior, and tell the science team to see if they can find any corpses in the wreckage, If so, we'll need biologists to study them. We need to know how to contain the aliens. Our food might be poisonous for them, or the air may be toxic, and I will not be held responsible for any casualties."

* * *

><p>Two Days Later<p>

After his shuttle crashed in the mountains, Saren found himself drifting between being comatose and conscious. His team had all died in the crash, and his arm was stuck in the contorted metal shuttle. He'd need special tools, or an omnitool with a metal working program suite. Only now he was feeling somewhat better, trying to release himself to contact his brother. Maybe he could check the omnitool, but that was very hard to do with one arm. He succeeded in activating the vocal control, and found that he had three messages from Desolas. He hoped that this brother was in a better position.

"Play the first message."

"Fire team has landed near the secondary city. So far we've faced no opposition, and we have hopes the rest of the mission will go well."

"Play the second message."

"The population of the city seems to have been evacuated. We have are setting up camp in the safest location we can find. Hopefully, the technicians will be able to access the computer system and tell us something about the orbital weapons. The lack of enemy sighing is making me nervous. It feels like our every step is being watched and analyzed."

"Play the third message."

"Third message contains video. Do you want the recording to be played as audio only, or as a fullvideo?"

"Full video." A small holographic screen appeared above his omnitool.

"The Aliens have found us. They are taking out our defenses one by one. Their weapons ignore our shields and armor while our weapons seem ineffective. If you see this, then hide until the backup arrives. I want to say that I-" Just before Desolas could finish, there was a sound all too similar to laser fire. His eyes exploded, his mouth expelled blood, and with a moan and a spray of blood his body fell to the ground. Saren watched, shocked by his brother's death. The video continued to play, showing an alien moving closer to check the body, speaking in a language he didn't understood.

"This is Shepard. We have another alien reacting badly to the laser stun. His eyes have exploded, and I think he choked on his own blood. Send a science team to collect the body."

Looking at the timer in the corner, Saren could see the message was sent only 45 minutes ago. Taken over by grief, he took his standard combat knife and started cutting his arm at the shoulder- in the hopes of getting free from the contorted metal.

"I will avenge you, brother. Even if I have to revive the Rachni." Saren promised as he took the first stab at his shoulder. The pain was excruciating, but he endured. He had to.

"I will avenge you, brother, even if I have to cure the genophage and release the krogan menace on the galaxy." Saren promised, taking a second, deeper stab.

"I will avenge you, brother. Even if I have to see the citadel burning and the presidium in flames." Promised Saren, before taking the last stab and cutting himself free.

Thankfully for him, the medical kit was close by and not destroyed in the crash. After some bandages applied by the omnitool and several shots of stimulating medicine, Saren was ready to move. He needed to put some space between him and the crash site. He needed to survive until reinforcements arrived. He needed to make sure his brother's death would not be in vain.

'The area my shuttle crashed in seems to be at the base of mountain.' Taking a look around, Saren continued to think, 'lots of trees. This forest seems dense, and should offer tons of places to hide.' He thought, walking into the mass of trees.

* * *

><p>Five Days Later<p>

Saren was tired, hungry, and out of ammo. For the past five days he had been hunted like a damned animal. He was starved, as the small scanner in his omnitool revealed that this planet was levo based. The worst part was that he couldn't get any rest. His body was running on stims by now. Every time he closed his eyes his brother's death was replayed in his mind. He would never forget the alien voice, or the words in the alien language. Trying to take another shot of stims, trying to keep his body running, he noticed the syringe wasn't injecting any liquid.

'Great. Out of stims as well.' Was his thought as the small device refused to work. The turian's body collapsed; tired and overexerted. He was found two hours later by the party who had been on his trail, and was airlifted to the medical bay of Triangulum.

Next up: 'visiting' the citadel

* * *

><p>Codex<p>

Triangulum class – Officially classified as a heavy cruiser simulations have revealed that this class is capable of taking out an entire enemy battle-group without any major difficulties. Alliance Navy considers this ship their crowning achievement and keeps producing them even at the exorbitant price each ship costs. Armament: 21 capital grade PAC(Mk IV) grouped in racks of 3 to ensure fast fire, 42 point defense laser weapons used offensively under certain range, 4 Nova bombs, cyber warfare systems managed by advanced AI. Defensive systems: plasma shielding powered by separate plasma reactor, trinium armor, repair micro-bots ready to fix damage while in battle. Engine: hyperdrive, plasma-ion sublight engine, mass reducing eezo nodules allowing for fighter type maneuverability. Power supply: 2x plasma reactor Mk VIII. Supplementary: carries a stargate. Length: 2602 m (8536.75 ft).

**classified** weakness: the mass reducing eezo nodules makes the detection of stealth ships impossible even at very close range. **classified**

HIVE carrier class – Also known by the turian forces as the ship that changes the galaxy view on space combat the Hive carrier is designed to be a completely autonomous ship having everything from mass convertors and fabrication units to hydroponic gardens to supply the crew with food. The power of the a HIVE is not ensured by the autonomy allowing it to run for decades maybe even more away from any resupply depot but by the disposable Dart fighter and the powerful Firestorm interceptor. Armament: none. Defenses: thick powerful plasma shielding running at similar temperatures to those of a star fueled by 4 plasma reactors, highly temperature resistant armor. Engines: slow ion sublight drive, hyperdrive. Power supply: 4x plasma reactor Mk VIII. Supplementary: hydroponic gardens, mass converters, fighter fabrication units, advanced sensors, antimatter containment and production unit, 4300 Dart fighters ready to launch at any moment, 700 Firestorm interceptors carriers, 2 fully functional stargates and 8 stargates designed to be deployed in combat. Length: 5683 m (19235.6ft)

**classified** weakness:fighter launch and retrieval bay unprotected by plasma shielding, defended by weak kinetic barrier, the System Alliance Air Force has been trying to get around this weakness by deploying stargates and sending fighters via wormhole, but the carrier can use only 2 open stargates at a time limiting the amount of fighters it can launch using them **classified**

Dart fighter- Cheap, disposable and easy to build are the 3 characteristics the humans give to this fighters while turian have classified them with another group of 3 characteristics such as fast, deadly and in great numbers. These sometimes suicidal fighters are remote controlled by veteran pilots usually flying an entire squadron a time. Armament: laser cannon. Defense: thin trinium armor. Engines: ion sublight, mass reducing eezo nodules for extra maneuverability and speed. Power supply: small naq generator. **classified**Weakness: lack of decent armor, needs to be in range of carrier sensor **classified**

Firestorm interceptor – Name as interceptor because its role is to intercept enemy vessels and kill them before they can be a danger to the carrier, also controlled remotely this fighter packs a huge punch for the size it has.Armament: laser cannon, 4 antimatter torpedoes. Defense: thin trinium armor. Engines: ion sublight, mass reducing eezo nodes for extra maneuverability and speed. Power supply: small naq generator.**classified**Weakness lack of decent armor, needs to be in range of carrier sensor **classified**

Mass reducing eezo nodules- specially developed technology to lower the mass of fighters and allow high maneuverability and speeds. Usually deployed on the hull of the ship. The downside of this system is that it causes all sorts of problems on scanners.

AI – The AI technology the System Alliance currently employs is designed to emulate organic life allowing existing AIs to reproduce and create new AIs. The reproduction process requires the parent AI to exchange data packets that will make the core programming of the new AI. Newly created AIs usually coexist in the same mainframe with one of their parents until they develop a base personality and are given their own mainframe. In the System Alliance synthetic life is very similar to organic life AIs having jobs, families and houses.

AN: And that is how you make a first contact 'war' happening by accident without any clear guilt on any part. Not that I don't like first contact fics, they are my favorite, but most the time the blame is shifted either on a strict and blood thirty turian captain/admiral or an imperialistic turian councilor (while here I tried to make him appear tired and cranky from being awaken in the middle of the night and having a gorgeous asari awaiting him in bed, hell I know I would be upset if I was him). In ME3 we are told Victus is a smart general and we only know of the thing with the salarian spy ring, I used him as the smart guy he is supposed to be. Hell this fiction even has asteroid warfare and it still didn't bash any turian leader.

And this chapter presents the opening of the first distinct OC, Rommie, created from 3 Sci-Fi universes as the first AI to appear in the story. It looked a bit strange to me while reading some fiction that all the AIs who appear are sane and safe while in ME the biggest villain is an AI. So I made my AIs a bit twisted, some of them consider themselves the masters of the organics but they forgot to tell the humans this. Mainly used for humor and a bit as a plot point later in the story if I can find out how to spell evil AI.

Please note that the humans are not invincible and their ships while incredibly powerful have weaknesses that can be exploited if found. I avoided telling what the age of any character appearing in the story yet and I await suggestions (how about 400001 for Hackett all hail GEoM), in this story humans may be immortal but how much would be too much.

I would be grateful to have any mistakes grammar or otherwise pointed out if they missed my screening. Hope you enjoyed it, this is version no 5 of this chapter I write from the ground up.

Please review, FLAMMERS ALLOWED.


	3. Human Mass III

Disclaimer: Mass effect belongs to Bioware and/or EA (and not to the author of the fiction) any other elements of this respective fiction belong to their respective owners and not to the author of the fiction.

AN: Welcome to human mass, the fiction that even when it's good, it's still pretty bad.

Warning: Lots of exaggerated numbers in this chapter.

**BETA'D: I HAVE A BETA, go and hug The Wistful Bloom and say thanks for fixing the story.**

* * *

><p>"The humans of old exposed their skin to nearly lethal amounts of solar radiation and abrasive micro rocks, just to change their skin tone."<p>

Adrien Victus was not having a good night. He was feeling guilty at almost abandoning his troops. Nightmares were troubling his sleep; dreams of creating a threat bigger than the Rachni by his actions, dreams of his soldiers dying in agony while cursing his name, dreams of Palaven burning keeping him awake. It took almost a week to gather a fleet big enough to convince him that he could take the planet. It wasn't easy. The other generals and the primarch were frightened by their losses, but they were determined to deal with this before things 'got out of talon'.

'The new race is clearly a threat. Thank the spirits they never left their small home-world. If only two cities are populated,it will be easy to subdue them. And they will make great allies for the turians once they understand the dangers of the galaxy. Yes, it will be bloody- but in the end we will all cooperate for the good of our children.'

The console near the bed started beeping.

"Victus here."

"Sir, you told us to alert you when we neared the enemy system." Replied the communication officer.

"I'll be on the command bridge in a few minutes."

A few minutes later the general walked onto the command bride, the location designated to giving orders to the entire fleet. While the ship had another bridge for the captain, this was the brain of the entire fleet. Victus tried to revise the plan.

'The fleet jumps into the system near the edge, and we test the range of the orbital weapon platforms with several cruisers. The rest of the fleet stays outside of range and targets the enemy one satellite at a time. But... only if Saren and Desolas didn't succeed in disabling the system. Once the satellites are dealt with, we move to ground offensive, eliminating the opposing military and removing any threat. Then, we offer them a chance to surrender and help them rebuild, introducing them in a few decades to the galactic community. They will be a powerful ally in the future if their orbital weapons are of any consideration. A fleet armed with those, and we would push back the batarians to their home-world... ending slavery.'

The fleet formed for this operation was strong. Fifteen dreadnaughts plus their supporting cruiser and frigate fleets; three fully stocked troop transport ships; five repair and support engineering ships ready to repair battle damage in a long war- but the turians were heading to fight a foe more dangerous then all their previous enemies combined.

In the future, historians would look back on this day and note that the battle that lasted less than eight seconds was abhorrently shameful.

* * *

><p>Triangulum<p>

"Steve, I am receiving a communication from the carrier Todd. An unknown fleet appeared at the edge of the system, and they are moving to intercept." Said the ship's AI.

"Give me the fleet on the comm." This only takes a few moments. "The enemy has returned. I want all Triangulum class ships following my ship. The carrier is to defend the planet. Any other ship hide behind the planet for an eventual FTL jump behind the enemy. Hackett out." He pushed a small button and the connection link was cut. "Romanadvoratrelundar, establish a network with the other Triangulum ships and prepare for full cyberwarfare. If we are lucky, then maybe we can scramble their targeting before their AI's push us out of their systems."

"Network prepared. Cyberwar attack option prepared. Coordination with the other ships running at optimal capacity." Said the AI, ready for a fight. 'Maybe their AIs are nice and exotic, with a strong attraction for good looking ships... now that would be an interesting cyberwar option. Seduction tactics on an alien AI.'

"Good. Tell the other ships to prepare for an FTL jump near the enemy fleet. Prepare for cyber attack on my mark." There was a small pause, the admiral waiting for the opportune moment. "Jump." Twelve seconds in hyperspace, and the Alliance Navy's Fifth fleet was face to face with the aliens. A look at the holographic display of the AI was all it took to spur his next words. "Attack." And then, almost instantaneously, the entire turian fleet was incapacitated.

"Steve, they have no AI defenses. We took out every ship. They will have to purge the entire computer system to remove our presence, and they would still have no defense against us. Small, inferior organics. They're no fun. At least, not like you, Steve." Romanadvoratrelundar's tone was eerily cheerful. 'They don't even use AI. How disappointing...'

"Thanks... I think." It was strange to hear what seemed like a compliment from his AI. "Start analyzing their database, and prepare a translation pack for contact. Prepare an analysis of their culture and history. It looks like this might end peacefully, after all. Open a link to the diplomatic station; give me Udina."

"It might take some time... a call to the diplomatic team will have to pass every link in the chain of command." Replied the AI.

It took an agonising ten minutes until they reached him.

"Ambassador, you should consider introducing a direct communication link for emergencies. It's incredibly difficult to contact you when I have to speak to every minion of yours in the process." Said Hackett. Udina's face glanced at him from the grandiose display screen on Triangulum's main bridge. "We made contact with the alien fleet, and disabled their ships. I was thinking to open diplomatic talks, before this ends in bloodshed on our part."

"Strange... I would have imagined you military types would be shoot first and no time for questions later." Udina replied.

"You've been in the position of Diplomatic Interstellar Ambassador for over six thousand years. I think it's time to do your job. I will send you the preliminary analysis of their database. Are you coming, or not?" Asked Hackett. He was right, though. Udina had practically invented his current position, and was the only person holding (or to ever hold) the seat.

"It'll take me half an hour. Make sure the stargate on your ship is operational."

* * *

><p>Turian Fleet Command Bridge<p>

Eight seconds; that was how long the aliens took between jumping in front of the fleet and disabling them. For Victus, that was shameful. And eye opening. For the past fourty five minutes they have been unsuccessfully trying to unfreeze their computer systems. Only the sensors worked, but that was little more than a reminder of the aliens' power.

'If these ships have the same weapons and barriers as the satellites, then we have no chance of winning a fight.' Thought Victus in his chair, trying to think of a way to save his men.

"Sir, we have what seems to be an incoming communication link from one of the alien ships." Said the communication officer, while trying to keep calm.

"Put it on our main display, Vakarian." Replied the general. 'Surrender is the only option I have. It will destroy my military career... but my men will live.'

"General Victus, greetings from the System Alliance." Said the alien, in what the translation software told him was perfect Turian. "My name is Donnel Udina. I represent the System Alliance, and I have been assigned to find a peaceful solution to our situation. Normally, I would have demanded your surrender after destroying a significant portion of your forces, but we are civilized people. So instead, I propose what you may call an armistice." The asari lookalike told the general, though with an air of superiority.

"Armistice?" Asked Victus.

"More like a truce. We stop any aggression between our people, and let your …" Here the alien made a pause to look to a nearby screen, "citadel council solve this dispute. We will also release the turians we captured. Several of them are injured, including one who has cut off his own arm to escape a crashed shuttle."

"This sounds reasonable." And it really was, looking from a general perspective.

"I am a reasonable person, who likes to help those who help me. Now, after we unfreeze your systems and transfer the prisoners, you will go to the citadel council and let them know a diplomatic party will be there in two weeks to discuss peace terms. I request that you are personally present there."

"Appearing with a fleet near the citadel might not be such a good idea..."

"Then I will have to make sure to only bring a small diplomatic vessel, and two escorts with their assigned vehicles." Replied Udina with a smile, before cutting the link.

"Well, Vakarian, it seems we get to live. I'll have to sign your transfer papers to C-sec after all. Give me fleet-wide."

"Fleet on com now, sir."

"We have reached an agreement with the alien race, and they will arrive at the citadel in two weeks for peace talks. They will return our captured men from the planet, and allow us to move back to council space."

* * *

><p>Council Private Chambers<p>

The council was in a briefing session, preparing to deal with the new race.

"I think supplementing the citadel fleet with ten more ships would be a good idea. Showing the new species who the true power of the galaxy is." Said the turian councilor.

"Impressing the new race will work in our favor, especially when we start the negotiations. But isn't the size of the citadel enough to do that?" Asked Tevos, the asari councilor.

"Their weapons suggest that we might not be able to impress them so easily. The extra ships might be worthwile." The salarian councilor retorted.

"But they will only bring three ships. Why do we need such a big fleet?" Asked Tevos.

"Their numbers are irrelevant. What we should concern ourselves with is the might of their cybernetic offensive. This kind of informational offensive power suggests heavy usage of AI units."

"We must warn the new race about the dangers of AI units. The Geth caused enough problems. It would be a tragedy for our galaxy to have another synthetic race with a hate for organics." Tevos took a sip from her tea.

'Guiding new species in joining the citadel space will be such a delight. Sharing the wisdom and experience of millenniums of space travel the council has brings joy to my heart.'

"Looking over the recording... this individual, Udina, he looks similar to an asari. Are we sure your kind doesn't have a long lost colony?" Asked the turian councilor, though it was mostly a joke.

A strange expression appeared over Tevos' face. "I don't know..." responded the asari, a sadness creasing her face, "I had several experts in genetics look over the images, and their results are not something I like to think about. This is not something like the same number of fingers as the batarians. By the goddess, this new race even has the same teeth arrangement. We could see that from a rare shot where the alien smiles."

"What does this mean?" Asked the turian.

"I don't know, but it could throw the entire asari society off balance. If this new race is a distant relative of the asari... then I will personally fight for them, and help them grow in citadel space."

"Then thisi is problematic. In the long term, it could lead to an asari power-block. I'd suggest distancing yourself from the matter." Said the salarian, somewhat worried about a distant future dominated by the asari.

"What would the asari gain from a new race? Who might or might not be their genetic cousin?" Asked the turian.

"The same thing turians would gain if the volus got a council seat."

The salarian moved to defuse the situation. "We are getting ahead of ourselves. We need to decide on…"

The discussion continued late into the night.

Citadel Flight Control

Today was the day the new race was supposed to arrive at the citadel for introductions. A space corridor was cleared for the diplomatic ship to approach the citadel. A special diplomatic landing pad was prepared in the citadel tower, so that the guest would not have to endure the slow elevators. General cleaning of the presidium and multiple C-Sec squads had been called from lower wards to provide security.

A singular officer was solely responsible for traffic control, and for approving the flight path for the alien ship. Said officer was now watching the scanners. Suddenly, a cruiser (by the citadel's standards) appeared on the screen. Following standard protocol, the officer announced this to his superior on the prepared communication link.

"Sir, I believe one of the alien escorts has arrived…" He paused for a reply, and then continued, "yes sir. I will contact the smallest ship and provide them with a vector to the prepared landing pad."

What happened next was transmitted live on the extra-net by several reporters and Citadel Traffic Channel 4. The sight made more than several military commanders faint.

Giant ruptures formed in the very fabric of reality, and from this disturbance two massive space-worthy movable objects emerged. It took the traffic control officer several galactic minutes to regain his breath.

"Sir, two things have appeared six light minutes out of the citadel. The smaller one is three thousand times the length of a dreadnaught."

* * *

><p>System Alliance Diplomatic Cruiser<p>

'Moving the headquarters of the Alliance Navy and Alliance Air Force was a logistical nightmare, but the intimidation factor in negotiations will be immense.' Thought Udina. His exceedingly long-term plan to get into a position of great power was finally moving into its terminal phase. Long ago, when he created the interstellar diplomatic position, he expected a cushy position- and maybe one day rise to the chief diplomatic position for an alien government. Now was his time to shine; fully backed by the System Alliance, and many experts in every area he could think of. There was even budget for PR campaigns. He was ready to push immense resources to further his and his government's position.

"Start broadcasting IFF, using the methods copied from the turian ships. Mark this ship as Diplomatic Ship One, and wait for them to contact us." 'There's the bait... hopefully these little fish don't send the danger, and bite.' A small beep interrupted him. The flight vector had been received. "Prepare the shuttle. We are launching in five."

Watching the Citadel while the shuttle was in flight, Udina's mind wandered around. 'This is their seat of government... a small backwards metal cylinder left from who-knows-what past race. It shouldn't be so difficult to swing this in my favour.'

The shuttle quickly reached the landing platform. The C-Sec officers gathered there could see a single alien walking from the shuttle, very asari-like in their minds- except for a few veteran fighters who were thinking something among the lines of 'No escorts?'.

Udina walked to the alien that seemed to be in charge, and said a phrase that he had wanted to use forever. "Take me to your leader."

The leading turian nodded, turning from him briskly. After a short walk Udina was in front of the leading powers of the galaxy. '...make that future ex-leading powers.' The ambassador was now face to face with the council in the audience room at the top of the presidium tower. As he had requested, general Victus was present. Everything was ready, and the negotiations would be transmitted live in the entire known galaxy.

"General," began a voice into the turian general's ear, "don't talk. Just nod if you want to become a councilor and help me end the batarian slavery." It was a strange proposal, but the only thing he could do was agree. 'If the proposal is good, then the galaxy can only it isn't... then they have nothing to lose.' A small nod sealed the fate of the turian councilor.

"Esteemed council, allow me to present myself. I am Donnel Udina, diplomatic interstellar ambassador of the System Alliance. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am-" Began Tevos, but was interrupted when Udina made a small hand gesture.

"I already know who everyone here is, councilor Tevos." He smiled, "let us begin the negotiations for the peace settlement between the Turian Hierarchy and the System Alliance."

"Yes. We already have the leader of the fleet who attacked you here, as requested."

"Our intelligence services show that general Victus contacted the council and spoke to the turian councilor, requesting orders on how to deal with the situation. I believe your answer was, and this I quote, 'I doubt this is a new race. They might be slavers, looking for easy prey, or a terminus race trying to elevate themselves. You have my permission'." The quote was spoken in the councilor's voice. 'Having central intelligence decrypt the conversational log of the turian fleet paid off.' His eyes moved to the asari and salarian councilors. "I must admit, I have no idea how citadel space works, but where I come from soldiers follow the orders of their elected leadership." Finishing his statement, Udina could see the eyes in the room were all on him. He could see a small, knowing look in the eyes of the asari. 'The blue woman has realized the plan... good. Let's see if she plays along.'

"So, are you saying that the turian councilor knew about this, but didn't inform us?" Asked Tevos, deciding to see if the alien would lead the conversation in the assumed direction.

"Yes. His inaction could have sparked a serious war, if we were a more violent race. Just imagine what this could have led to. A war bigger than the Rachni and the Krogan rebellion combined, and all because a councilor didn't want the opinion of his colleagues." Udina said, gaining the exact reaction that he wanted.

"But, the general acted to prevent you from opening a relay that could have lead to other unknown threats." The turian councilor was trying to defend himself.

"Any good soldier follows the orders of his superiors. General Victus showed a great deal of intelligence in his tactics, and in my opinion he would be a much better councilor than you. Following citadel regulation 426, I require for a vote of no confidence against the turian councilor." Udina said this with a small smile on his face. 'The vote will be held in the coming months, but- if I can just get one other councilor to agree... come on, blue space babe. Help me!'

"I second the motion," said Tevos, "until the time of voting, the current councilor is temporarily dismissed. We will need an interim turian councilor. Would you accept the position, general Victus?"

The general, who until now had been silent, could not believe what was happening. In less than three minutes, Udina had made him one of the most powerful political figures in the galaxy. There was still the vote, but should the vote pass he would be a councilor. Even if it didn't, he would still be a councilor for a short period. "I accept. In the name of galactic stability, we need to continue the talks."

"The next thing to discuss would be joining the citadel space of humanity. Care to tell us a few words about your civilization, Udina?" Tevos supplied.

"The name of my race is humanity. This is the second time my race has risen among the stars, the first time being destroyed millions of years ago." Began Udina, but he was interrupted by the salarian councilor.

"Destroyed? What happened?" Asked a curious salarian councilor, while the asari and the turian were curious about the 'million years' statement.

"We... don't know. Our surviving people were, at the time, in a colony ship frozen in time. It was built from very advanced technology, that rested on the bottom of the ocean for four million years. The entire civilization was flourishing, and the colony ship Atlantis was to sent to colonize a small space outside the network of what you call mass relays. Atlantis awoke my ancestors from their long hibernation, and we've seen no trace of what happened to our old civilization." Udina explained.

"Mass relays older then protean civilization... that's an interesting idea. It validates several scientific studies that were ignored, and changes the modern view on space travel. Please, continue telling us about your people." The salarian asked.

"122,574 years have passed since we returned from hibernation. Our population practically exploded. We are composed of about one hundred and fifteen trillion sentient humans, and two times that number in the MIND mainframe."

The large and somewhat unexpected numbers caused a small silence in the chamber. The now named councilor Victus decided to take the word.

"If your race is truly this old, why haven't we encountered you earlier?" He asked.

"Only recently have we decided to leave our home system. After we returned to space, we observed that the in-system mass relay had been moved. Recent exploration revealed the closest relay to be at a distance of three thousand light-years from us."

"I am sure that the council space would gladly welcome humanity." Said Tevos, already convinced.

"Sadly... we cannot join. There are certain citadel regulations that the population would not agree to." Udina admitted. 'Come on... take the bait and ask the question.'

"Could you give us more details? " Asked Victus, wanting nothing more than the human's help to abolish slavery.

"For a start, our best ships and installations use artificial intelligence."

"AI is dangerous. Synthetic life cannot understand organics. Regulations must be followed" Said the salarian.

"In our constitution, a person is defined by two things: complex reasoning and the ability to procreate. We developed artificial intelligence long before any of your civilizations developed writings. We consider our synthetics brothers and sisters, just like we would consider any human. There will be no termination of any AI." Udina said, with a determined tone.

"I think we can agree to modify the law allowing human AIs to exist."

"The next problem would the ban against genetic modification. We have achieved genetic immortality. Do you really think that the human population would give up living forever?"

"I am sure we can allow humans to continue the research of genetic engineering. Provided that they share their current research." Responded the salarian councilor, already thinking of the possibilities of a longer lifespan for his race.

"That can be negotiated. We should talk about your definition of dreadnaughts." Udina continued.

"Vessels above a certain length, with a spinal mounted weapon on most of the length of the ship. I am sure your race is familiar with the concept." Said the ex-general.

"Yes, and we have no dreadnaughts in any of our fleets. While it is true that we have vehicles bigger than your definition, none of them have weapons bigger than your definition of a cruiser. And definitely not what you define a dreadnaught to have. Even safer, our current navy's main weapons would dissipate into the atmosphere if they attempted to bombard a planet. The last problem that needs to be resolved would be sharing the scientific research."

"What would be your problem in sharing research at galactic level?" Asked the salarian, again.

"Currently, there are two main currents in the scientific community, with different opinions about sharing technology with aliens. The first says some technologies we have will destroy the current galactic society, and that they should be introduced slowly. We should take small steps and ensure that, for instance, our mass converter would not eliminate the mining industry and leave millions unemployed. While the second current proposes that we should not share any advancement, and allow other races to develop original technologies preventing stagnation." Explained Udina.

"I can generally agree with the first idea. I say humanity should be allowed an embassy on the citadel. In the next several days, similar negotiations will be held to establish the terms." Said Tevos.

"Agreed. Then, perhaps, we can see each other in person."

"In person?" Asked the confused salarian councilor.

"Yes. What you see now is only a small flying drone using holographic technology. You didn't think any normal, sane sentient would just walk onto an alien station? Without at least making sure to establish any possible risks?" With a shake of his head Udina disappeared, shocking everyone.

End of chapter. Next chapter we have the blitz, Mindoir and Torfan.

* * *

><p>Codex<p>

MIND Mainframe – A huge quantum computer providing mental housing for close to 230 trillion humans who decided to leave their organic body and spend the rest of eternity into a simulated reality where each human has powers similar to that of a deity. While not a hive mind the MIND is capable of joining the thinking process of a group of people at their request. Joining the MIND requires a conscious effort and it is impossible to add the mind of a corpse to the MIND.

Orbital Weapon Platform – Powerful VI control satellites armed with plasma weapons, usually deployed in orbit of planets to defend ground location for space attacks.

Sonic Shock Weapon – Weapons developed by the System Alliance Army as advanced shotgun options. It works by emetic a powerful shock-wave that travels as sound. Not effective over certain distances because cone of the shock-wave disperses.

System Alliance ground armor – While each military arm of the System Alliance has specialized armor, all function on the same principle. Thick trinium plating backed by up strength enhancing servomotors stops energy weapons while kinetic fields slow down high speed projectile transforming a powerful high-speed impact into a small pellet bouncing off the powerful armor.

Human culture –Humanity is currently in the 14 rebirth of what is called late 20, early 21 century culture. Classic remade movies and television shows entertain the population and are compared to the originals, foods and drinks from those times are the public favorites.

AN: I had a lot of problems with this chapter because originally I wanted to have a fully fledged war but then decided against it, 14k words containing a turian surrender over Palaven will never see the light of fan fiction(mostly because they remind me of another fic with turian surrender over Palaven). I decided to do the smart thing, when you have a group of powerful AIs, why not let the fight the enemy first? We hear in ME2 EDI telling us about managing the cyber warfare suite but we never see it in action, disappointing.

If any of you see any type of mistakes in what I write then you are invited to tell me where I am wrong, some people like to improve themselves and I am one of them, each mistake pointed to me will help me grow and develop as a better writer, thanks in advance.

Initially I wanted this chapter to also contain GNN section with reaction to what happened in this chapter, but it seems that I have no idea how to write it.

Who doesn't like Udina in general? Except me. The idea is that he has a lot of potential, I didn't see many stories keeping up a political corner and I plan that to have a small view into what happens on the citadel at least once every 3-4 chapters. Think about it, Shep is out killing people, but what happens in the background? What is the motivation behind the political leaders? We shall see.

Finally a small question, I was thinking to also add personnel files to my codex, maybe explain where Hackett got his scar (can you spell vibroblade duel). Should I do it? Reply by PM or review.

Please review, FLAMERS ALLOWED.


	4. Human Mass IV

Disclaimer: Mass effect belongs to Bioware and/or EA (and not to the author of the fiction) any other elements of this respective fiction belong to their respective owners and not to the author of the fiction.

Warning: Morally questionable Udina, the impossibly to believe good grammar.

**BETA'D: I HAVE A BETA, go and hug The Wistful Bloom and say thanks for fixing the story.**

* * *

><p>"The humans of old poisoned the air, the water, and the ground to kill the weak."<p>

The citadel; a deadly trap for all civilizations, built by the reapers for those that knew the truth. It is a beautiful and grandiose structural creation, made by long-gone predecessors. A seat of government, and the heart of the galaxy to the young races who made the old structure their home. For humans, it is a small and insignificant station in a random corner of the galaxy.

For ambassador Donnel Udina; the citadel was his new office; the current place of power to new horizons; a location from which he could pull the strings, and make the events turn out to help his cause. Lately, things were not going according to plan. The move to have a human spectre hadn't worked; the turian councilor still kept his position, even after a nasty PR campaign; humanity still didn't have a seat on the council, and he still couldn't find a good drink. He could only hope something would change, and soon, or he would have to start taking aggressive actions.

'Hearth of the civilized galaxy my rear! You can't even find a half decent drink around here. I have to get my Rum delivered by stargate. At least the asari are easy on the eye, that's something. Mental note forty-three- hire an asari secretary.' A small beep on the console interrupted him.

[Urgent]

A small batarian fleet attacked the colony of Mindoir. Orbital weapons were successful in repelling the invaders. Intelligence agencies have revealed data that suggests the batarian government was backing the aggressors. Military action will be taken by the navy. A single Triangulum ship has been dispatched to the base system of the aggressors, a system know to citadel races as Torfan. You are to deal with the diplomatic side of the batarian actions and minimize any repercussions the action of the navy might have.

- System Alliance Parliament, Chief Internal Diplomacy Minister Anita Goyle

[/Urgent]

'And here is the change I wanted. A chance to gently, or not so gently, push things towards the right path. Keep calm and out-manipulate your opponents into a verbal trap- the motto of the diplomatic school will have to be applied in this situation.' A small sip from his glass revealed that it was empty. Slowly refilling, it the ambassador was thinking about why only one ship would be dispatched to deal with an entire system. 'A nova bomb. Those imbeciles plan to make my life even harder. They are planning to destroy the entire system in one hit, as a show of power. While it's good to show strength... sometimes it can scare possible allies. Especially if those allies don't have the capabilities to build large space habitats.' Deciding to act, Udina pressed a button on his desk.

"Request an audience with the council and the batarian ambassador. Mark it semi-urgent, but don't send it on the urgent channels. Don't let it scare them."

* * *

><p>Citadel Council Private Room<p>

This special room had every anti-surveillance method know to council races. This special room was locked so well that not even the keepers could get inside. This special room was the place where the lives of trillions sentients where decided. This special room was the council private meeting room.

Right now, councilor Tevos was preparing for a public semi-urgent meeting with the human and batarian ambassadors. Even now, the private session after the first talks with the humans was on her mind.

[Flashback]

"How could you suspend me?!" Asked the turian councilor, filled with anger.

"Did you see the size of ships outside? By the goddess, how could they build things that big?"

"Don't try to divert the subject." Snapped the turian councilor.

"I am not. We still don't know anything about them, or their culture. What if those immense ships attacked, simply because we didn't agree with them? Think about it. They brought, to the heart of our government, ships that are bigger than small planetoids." Tevos explained.

"That sounds logical. Still, the claims of immortality are more concerning. I wonder how old the ambassador is..." Said the salarian.

"It is insulting to ask people their age, especially so if they are immortal. But I don't understand why the immortality concerns you more than the ships."

"I think I understand why," general Victus began (who, as acting councilor, was present at the meeting), "just think about. If you have all the time in the universe, then you have time to learn anything you want. A scientist could spend thousands of years studying a certain field, or a soldier could hone their skills better than anyone. Well, except maybe krogans. Just think of a biotic who had ten thousand years to train. The asari matriarchs are nothing compared to that."

"Yes... that sounds dangerous, very dangerous. And your reports on the capabilities of the ships make this worse. What can we do if they decide to fight us?" Asked the turian councilor. His flared anger had diminished, and now he could only think about the safety of the council space.

"How do you deal with somebody that has nothing to lose?" Tevos began, rhetorically, "you give him something to win, so he may have something to lose in the future. Yes, their army is superior. Yes, they might be older and more advanced than us. But there must be things they could gain from us. Diplomacy and trade should be our bond and link us to humanity, even if at first we are nothing more than a tourist attraction. Slowly, our civilizations will intertwine, and their people will not want war against us."

"That sounds like a plan. I will draft some research agreements for combined laboratories. Even if they don't accept the idea now, the humans will know the door has been opened. In time, we will benefit greatly."

[/Flashback]

In the days following the first meeting, more negotiations followed. Stargates were gifted to the citadel races, and every council home-world was now linked to the citadel. Human companies practically invaded the galaxy. Medigel was quickly becoming the first aid answer to everything; from the scraped knees of small children to gunshot wounds. Food and drink firms were ferociously pushing coffee and fast food towards every corner of galactic civilization. While there were some who disagreed with the fast expansion of human power and culture, good publicity and the quality of everything introduced was quickly convincing any naysayer. The dextro-DNA turians escaped the food and drinks expansion, but they didn't escape the entertainment boom of war films.

'The humans have integrated well into citadel space...' thought Tevos, while sipping coffee from her cup, 'the coffee alone is worth having them around.'

"Why do you think the human ambassador asked for this meeting?" Asked the turian.

"It could be anything. Maybe to propose another spectre?" Replied the asari, taking another sip of coffee, "not that I am against the idea, but the last one... maybe we should let them wait a few more years before allowing them another try? Ageing is not an issue for them."

"I think this meeting is about the Torfan system. The batarian ambassador was invited. Torfan went blank a day ago. It's a logical conclusion." Replied the salarian councilor. This was one of his last meetings, before he would be retiring.

***DING***DING***DING***

"I think we should move to the public meeting area. Punctuality gives the right impression." Said the turian.

"We are the council. People wait around expecting us, not the other way around." Said Tevos, noticing that the turian councilor was trying more and more to please the public (after nearly losing his position in the elections started by the no-confidence vote).

* * *

><p>Council Public Room<p>

The councilors entered the room and took their positions. The batarian ambassador was tired of waiting, and wanted a quick end to this.

"So, human, tell us why you have called us here." Began the batarian sharply.

"There has been an attack on the human colony of Mindoir. Information recovered from the ships," 'because I can't say we have spies in your government' "suggests the slavers were based in the Torfan system, and were backed by batarian officials. There has been military action against the pirates, and I would like to know what actions your people will take against the ones backing the slavers." Udina replied.

"Slavery is an important trait of the caste system of my civilisation. We cannot, and will not, punish any batarians who moved to acquire slaves." There was a hint of pride in his voice.

Tevos was watching the discussions, and wanted to see where this was going. In the time it had taken Udina to settle in the citadel, he had almost immediately given an air of a political sniper; somebody who moves into the perfect position for the perfect action, and as quickly as possible. She sent a small message from her console to the other councilors to wait and see.

"I understand and agree that the batarian culture will crumble without the batarian caste system. It supports the batarian government, for starters." Said Udina, implementing a focus on the word 'batarian', and making sure that everybody in the room understood that. Even the small TV crew seemed to focus the camera on him. "But we are not talking about batarian slaves. We are talking about slavers. Why should our people be slaves?" He took a small pause, watching the batarian ambassador opening his mouth to speak. Udina decided to interject before he got a chance. "So I would like to make a proposal to the batarian ambassador. Your government should directly forbid, and make punishable by death, the ownership of a non-batarian slave."

"What?!"

"Slavery is wrong, and I am trying to take steps to abolish it. And, if your society would crumble without slavery, I am willing to take small steps. The first small step should be stopping the ownership of non-batarian slaves. If you can't accept that, then we should let your society crumble, and help the survivors build a better civilization."

"Are you declaring war?" The batarian seethed. He was somewhat surprised, and definitely insulted at the lack of intervention from the council.

"Why would I do such a thing?" Udina shook his head lightly, "the military already did. Just before I entered this chamber I received confirmation of their actions. They attacked Torfan, liberated the slaves, and launched a nova bomb into the system's star." Udina explained, shocking everybody in the room.

"Destroying a star as an action against slavers is a complete overreaction." The turian councilor broke in, still angry at the human ambassador for trying to remove him.

Udina smiled. The turian had taken the bait."It sends a message to the galaxy. That they will pay dearly if they take human slaves. I don't know about you, turian, but I will not be able to rest at night knowing my people are enslaved. How can you rest at all, knowing that the sons and daughters of the turians you serve are treated like animals? This was no overreaction." He paused, and took a small breath. The other councilors watched him, sitting with bated breath. "I propose that the System Alliance should take actions against the batarian slave system."

"I propose the council should take action before the humans invade and kill my people!" The batarian retorted, fear starting to show on his face.

"The council will not involve itself in private disputes. Diplomatic support is always available, if both parties desire talk. The important thing here is the limitation of weapons capable of destroying an entire system." Said the salarian.

"I will agree to help limit the use of Nova bombs to systems without any garden world." Udina said.

"We will offer full rights to the Attican Traverse, in exchange for agreeing to use Nova bombs only with the permission of the citadel council." Said Tevos, thinking of the benefits. 'I am not really giving them anything, saying that the region is under System Alliance control. Terminus warlords will disagree and attack, they will lose, and the region will become safer.'

"I am certain my superiors will agree with those terms. I would like to thank this council for recognizing the Attican Traverse as a region under the banner of the System Alliance."

"First, you let humans practically declare war on me. And now you give them the space we have asked for, for so long. Long before they even emerged. This is an outrage! The batarian government will leave the citadel." Declared the batarian ambassador, before storming out of the room.

"I will contact my superiors for approval on the Nova bombs agreement." Udina concluded, before politely taking his exit from the room. 'That was a good meeting. I increased the recognized territory, and put a nail in the turian councilor's coffin. Even better, I will end slavery for an entire race. That will certainly get me a good spot in the history pages.'

In the coming years, the System Alliance Navy would destroy every batarian space station and ship, and liberate every slave they could find. Slave riots were started on the ground and helped by the Alliance Army and Air Force to gain control of the planets. Eventually, the batarian revolution ended, and the ex-slaves and low caste members started to rebuild their society.

* * *

><p>Triangulum<p>

Admiral Hackett was currently escorting a specialized aid group to open talks with the quarian people. It was critical that they established an alliance with them, and perhaps then they could offer the galaxy an alternative to the citadel council.

"Steve, we have arrived to the last known location of the migrant fleet."

"I can see that. Please, contact the closest thing to the leading vessel."

"So you have returned to destroy us, you artificial worshiping bosh'tets. Leave, before I turn every weapon in the fleet on you." Said an angry Han'Gerrel.

"We are here to help you. Why would you attack us?"

"That's what you said the last time, before attacking us with your AIs. I lost tens of thousands of people. I will not ask you again!" said an even more angry Han'Gerrel.

With the push of a button the transmission was cut by Hackett. "Get us out of here. It's clear we're not wanted." The Triangulum entered hyperspace and left the area."Contact central intelligence. I want to know what happened with the quarians."

"Already on it. I sent an information request to central intelligence. They'll deal with it" Romanadvoratrelundar assured him.

"You will find me in the ready room."

Triangulum Ready Room

The admiral was enjoying a nice glass of wine, and remembering the past. A nice thought brought him back to the scar on his face. It was a long and incredibly hard duel against a captain who was trying to gain support for a promotion to admiral. Two weeks after the duel, the captain was named admiral of a newly created fleet.

'Hannah Shepard, your mind is as sharp as your vibroblade. If I hadn't moved my head then... well, I would now be the 'headless' admiral. Good duel.'

"Steve, we have received a reply from the AI managing the request server." said Romanadvoratrelundar.

"Good. Tell me what happened"

The AI representation appeared to take a deep breath. "It seems like a human supremacist group called Cerberus is behind an attack on the quarian flotilla. While not very old, they have already established a good intelligence network, and have been able to hide their motives and assets."

"It seems like these days anybody with money can make a spy group. There are already dozens of strong groups like Section 31, OSI, Tal'Shiar... the list could go on. Send a request to categorize Cerberus as a terrorist group, and another request to central intelligence requesting they deal with Cerberus."

The end. Next on human mass Eden prime. Shepard enters the stage.

* * *

><p>Codex<p>

Central Intelligence – Human civilization gathered a large amount of intelligence services, all of this services report in a smaller or bigger measure to the central intelligence and receive orders from it. While appearing powerful this agency has no direct method of enforcing orders or requesting information. Everything is offered voluntarily to it and ranked at certain levels of classification.

Human Asari relations – More romantic couples and marriages registered between humans and asari happened since the first contact then between any other two species. While several asari groups say the close resemblance means that nothing is gain in their genetic code the rest of the asari seem to enjoy knowing their partner's natural lifespan will not end long before theirs.

Coffee – Already one of highest exports of humanity coffee can be found everywhere there is a levo DNA population. The great taste and the effects of caffeine made this one of the top drinks on many asari and salarian words. Several non human companies have received permission to grow coffee plantations and recently a religion worshiping coffee started on Sur'Kesh.

Krogan Human relations – Many krogan mercenaries see humans as prime competition. While humans don't have such strong regeneration, their skin, bones and internal organs are much stronger then most citadel races and what they lack in strength makes up in endurance. Both races share long lifespans that allow them to gain impressive amounts of battle experience. What the future might bring, humans and krogans will be there to fight it.

AN: Sorry for the short chapter but I didn't want to push into Eden prime and cut at half or make a cliffhanger. The next chapter should cover the geth invasion and end after Shep leaves for the Saren hunt. I wanted to finish this sooner but I wanted to finish Xcom EW with Ironman on the highest difficulty. I am opened to suggestions and corrections.

Hate Udina? Well he is still around and will be around until ME3 time-line with several intermissions where he is the main dude. Be prepared for bad humor, bad grammar and some bad writing containing fresh ideas. My attention span might be strange you might get 3 chapters a week or 1 a month so don't be disappointed if you don't see a chapter for a while.

Flamers allowed.


	5. Human Mass V

AN: Started with the original SR2 and we will keep upping the ships from there, imagine a ME3 stealth dreadnaught ship, I understand in the game the ship was only needed for small team deployment, but I don't see the System Alliance in this fic keeping their specter in a small ship if they can build a better one.

Warning: Plot so bad that it will make you stop reading.

**BETA'D: I HAVE A BETA, go and hug The Wistful Bloom and say thanks for fixing the story.**

* * *

><p>"The humans of old started an immense and horrible campaign, trying to destroy their home planet to push the entire species to the stars."<p>

Sovereign Observation Deck

While the reaper was not built to accommodate a crew, it had several rooms that suited organics well enough. Saren was currently sitting in what he classified as the observation deck, preparing for the opening move in his plan of vengeance.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Asked Benezia, the asari matriarch he had attracted to the cause.

"We both know the humans are a threat to the galaxy. They must pay for killing my brother, they must be stopped for all of our sakes." Said Saren, with conviction in his voice.

"Yes. My little wing will be kept away from their filthy, corrupting hands. I know many good asari who left their loved ones for humans. I would rather die than allow Liara to become a toy for one." Said Benezia.

"This is the first step. Sovereign will hack the orbital defenses, me and the geth will recover the information, and then cover this as a geth attack. After Eden Prime, I have a mission for you."

"I will gladly do anything to further the cause, and stop the humans."

"I know. This is something suited to the unique skills of a matriarch. Don't worry about your daughter, I will dispatch the geth to recover and bring her to Sovereign where she will be safe."

"I will do the mission. I thank you for protecting my little wing."

* * *

><p>Normandy SR2: Cockpit<p>

"Drift under fifteen hundred K." Said Joker, proudly.

"Fifteen hundred... good. There's room for improvement. But I guess your captain will be pleased." Nihlus said and left. His steps where quiet, his breathing silent. If one didn't see him, it was impossible to know he was even there.

"At least I don't wear makeup." Said Joker, looking at his would-be copilot Kaidan Alenko, "pompous space ninja."

"He's not that bad." Said Kaidan. And, speaking from memory, he would've picked Nihlus over Shepard any day of the week.

"I don't like him. Besides, call me paranoid, but spectres are trouble."

"You're paranoid." Interjected Shepard, announcing his presence.

"Commander, you scared me!" Joker gasped, somewhat startled, "what's your view of the situation?"

"We have a ship designed for stealth, with systems so advanced that we could easily infiltrate the most heavily guarded areas of the citadel. We have a spectre that is uncannily ninja-like, and the launch schedule of the ship was moved three weeks in advance. No shit! We clearly have a genius on our hands."

"No need to be a smartass, commander."

Before Shepard could reply with an intelligent insult, an insult that (he'd claim) would've entered the history books and would've saved the galaxy from destruction, Admiral Anderson (also the acting captain of the vessel) interrupted everyone on the com. "Status report."

"We can check as done the entire jumping into a system silently procedure. Want to check connectivity with comm buoy?" Joker asked.

"Yes. Patch us into the system and run a small diagnostic."

"Brace yourself, Nihlus is coming." Joker said, though he barely managed to hide his displeasure.

The small holographic display next to him reserved for the ship's AI activated, and the artificial intelligence decided to intervene in the conversation "Council spectre Nihlus is already in the presence of Admiral Anderson."

"Thanks for embarrassing me, EDI." Joker hissed.

"You are very welcome, flight lieutenant Moreau."

"If you are finished with your little lover's spat, send Shepard to the meeting room."

"Is it me, or is the admiral hallucinating? Lover's spat! There's nothing between us."

"The comm link is still open, flight lieutenant Moreau." EDI announced.

Joker quickly closed the communication link, before he could say anything else that would get him into trouble.

Shepard, (that was, commander James Tiberius Leonidas John Rex Jose Shepard) was walking from the cockpit to the meeting room. He was pleased his this ship. While the first model was underpowered, the second and current one was much larger and it had a bar. A bar.

Walking into the meeting room, Shepard took a look around. Nihlus and Anderson were seated at opposite sides, with the spectre carefully watching the admiral sip his coffee.

"Commander, nice to finally see you here. I was looking over your file, and was hoping for a chance to talk." Nihlus began- though he didn't move, or in any other way acknowledge Shepard's entrance.

"I wanted a little chat myself. What do you want to talk about?" Asked Shepard, taking a seat.

"Eden Prime. What did you hear about it?" Nihlus asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question. He didn't give Shepard a chance to answer. "Some say this planet is a paradise, proof that humans can build colonies in the Traverse and protect them. But that begs the question; are you ready?"

"You're making a veiled threat, while trying to elicit a response from me. If we're going to continue this exchange of unanswered questions, why test me? Why did the navy insist on me being the XO on this ship? Why did they send my mother to ask me to take this job after I turned it down twice?" Shepard paused, glancing away for a moment. "The admiral's presence, and several rumors about him provide some answers. But you, you my turian friend, are the final piece of this ineffective puzzle. I must assume Eden Prime is the first in a series of missions I will take with you, as tests for my candidacy as a spectre." Shepard looked incredibly pleased with himself.

"When I heard you were smart, I didn't expect this." Nihlus replied, somewhat impressed.

"The commander is smart, but he has his share of faults. Let's not forget about the thinly veiled insults he tends to sneak in when addressing his superiors."

"I have never insulted my superiors, sir."

"How about this morning, when we had a talk concerning your late paperwork?" Asked Anderson.

"I have never insulted my superiors." Said Shepard again, this time with a large smirk.

"I think it's time to tell the commander the truth."

"We are making a covert pick up on Eden Prime, retrieving a prothean beacon. This is the reason we needed the stealth systems online."

"And you couldn't inform the crew after we left the docks? The crew needs to know this is a mission, and not a simple test of all the systems. One tiny slip during the operational tests, and this ship is in danger. Hell, the senior staff are not even at their stations. Pressly was talking with Adams near navigation, and doctor Chakwas was chatting with Jenkins just outside the meeting room. Leaving your crew unprepared on such an operation is a very bad idea."

Anderson shot Shepard a glance, truly upset his XO was questioning his decisions "What's the worst that could happ-"

"We are receiving a planetary distress signal from Eden Prime." Announced EDI.

"Details?" Asked the admiral.

"No details. It appears that whoever attacked the planet hacked the orbital satellites, and all major communication systems. We are receiving the distress from ground troops portable transceivers." EDI informed them.

"And those signals will allow the invaders to pinpoint individual troops for the invaders to pin down and kill. The guys down there are either stupid or desperate to do something like this. Maybe both." Shepard replied.

"The closest fleet is forty minutes away. EDI, contact central using the QEC and have them send us backup. We will drop troops with the stealth system engaged and do our mission. EDI, give me ship-wide." After receiving confirmation of having ship-wide communications, the admiral continued, "everybody to battle stations. We will make a stealth drop on Eden Prime. The colony has just been attacked and we have no way of knowing what is there. I want everybody ready and the plasma reactor ready to power-up. Commander Shepard will lead the ground team to secure a prothean beacon."

"You had to invite Murphy, didn't you?" Shepard moved from his seat to the door, "we'll be ready to deploy in five."

Normandy Cargo Bay

"I'll go in solo and scout ahead. You and your team will provide support, and deal with any enemies." Nihlus told them.

"Isn't it stupid to in go alone when you have a team ready to back you up? And why don't you have a helmet?" Asked Shepard.

"I am a spectre. Don't worry, I will be fine." Replied Nihlus, jumping from the ship and landing on the ground.

"I guess we'll have to follow him, and make sure he doesn't die."

"Geronimo!" Jenkins shouted as he jumped down, quickly followed by Shepard and Kaidan.

* * *

><p>Ground Side, Eden Prime<p>

"Jenkins, you forgot your helmet." Said the commander.

"I am an alliance navy marine. Don't worry, I will be fine." Jenkins said with a wink.

Just at that moment, Nihlus contacted the group. "There are hostiles everywhere. I think this is a geth attack. Be prepared for anti-synthetic combat." The squad set their laser rifles to synthetic disruptor settings.

"We're going to move to the dig site. Keep your eyes open. Use cover, and check the motion scanners for any inbound enemies." Instructed Shepard. 'Better to repeat things and sound boring than to have people die for not being careful.'

The first few hundred meters proved to be uneventful, without any hostile encounters. And while Shepard was becoming increasingly paranoid, Jenkins was relaxing more and more. Several flying drones suddenly appeared in the open. Without any time to react the four drones targeted Jenkins and focused fire on his head: bypassing his shield and easily killing him. Half a minute later the drones were dealt with, and Kaidan was able to investigate Jenkins' death.

"They overwhelmed the kinetic dampeners with multiple shots in the same area, and killed him." He said, trying to sound detached.

"And this is what happens to idiots who don't keep their helmets on. I bet Nihlus is next." Said Shepard, with no remorse.

"Commander, how can you say that? He just died!"

"Dying doesn't put you in the right. Idiot in life, idiot in death. Get over it, we have killing to do."

"Yes, commander."

Several more minutes were spent walking to the dig site, and killing several drones. While not necessarily a threat, multiple drones firing in the same spot are able to overwhelm shields- so cover was substantially used. Shots could be heard coming from the direction of the dig site. Taking cover, Shepard and Alenko could see an army soldier killing several drones. While Kaidan was happy to have what seemed to be backup, the commander's mind was on other things. 'Who the hell allowed her to wear pink armor?'

"Attention!" Shepard barked, channelling his time as army officer.

"Sir, yes sir!" Responded the soldier in pink armor, almost instinctively.

"Name and rank, soldier!" Shepard shouted again.

"Sergeant Ashley Williams of 212, sir."

"Commander Shepard here, and Kaidan Alenko. I want a full status report."

"My squad came under attack from the geth, sir. They overwhelmed and killed most of my squad. A retreat was called, and was the only one to escape. I was trying to retrace the route back to the dig site, sir." Ashley told him.

'Poor girl, only the training and keeping her mind on the task at hand will keep her from going into shock. She will probably need several sessions to make sure this doesn't evolve into PTSD. We've got to keep her focused on killing the geth.' "Sergeant, you will join my squad and we will move to secure the beacon. I know the army prefers explosive rounds and sonic booms instead of laser, so try and take shots on targets with low shielding while Alenko here will be focused on leaving them open for you."

"Sir, yes sir."

It was a short and quiet walk to the dig site. The commander learned in this time that everybody in the colony knew about the beacon, and that Nihlus was the only turian on the planet. Still, he was again feeling a bit angry at Anderson for hiding the truth. 'You let an entire colony know about it. Civilians and TV crews, everyone- and you hide it from the people who serve under you as a measure of security? Damn, that sounds idiotic. And why bring a frigate if this wasn't truly a secret? Why not station a fleet above the planet from the beginning? All of this could have been avoided.'

"Are those people on impaled on stakes?" Kaidan asked with a grimace.

"Yes. It makes an excellent psychological warfare tactic. Who knew the geth were good at it? The developing mind of a synthetic always did fascinate me."

"Commander, how can you say that? Those are dead people, not tactics."

"And pretty words will not revive them."

But, at that moment, the spikes retracted and the bodies hit the ground. Their skin was gray, mouths frozen in an eternal silent scream. By their size, you could tell that several children were among them. And then the last spike retracted, and the bodies started rising. The moves were slow and heavy- lacking coordination, but still moving in the direction of the squad.

"Open fire!" Shepard ordered, and his team started killing the bodies. Trying to save his companions the sorrow of dealing with it, he prioritized killing the children. 'I can deal with it. Kaidan is already psychically sensitive, and more of this will cause even bigger problems for Ashley after her team got killed. Maybe I should get her started on those pills, even if they are untested...' With this thought on his mind he squeezed the trigger, killing another enemy. While numbering in over two dozen, their foes were lacking in speed, range, and tactics- and they were easily killed.

"These... these people," Kaidan took a break and looked around at the bodies, "nothing remains. They're just... empty husks."

"We need to make sure they didn't die in vain. We need to secure the beacon." Said the commander. 'Husk sounds like a good classification. It's better than my meta-zombie idea.'

"The beacon isn't here." Ashley announced.

"It must have been moved. The question is, by who?"

"I would say by the colonists. Normandy was supposed to pick up the beacon right about now, and I'm sure that landing on the dig site wasn't in the plan. I would suggest we move to the space port." Said Shepard.

***BANG***

An extremely loud shot was heard by the squad, and everyone began looking around for enemies.

* * *

><p>Spaceport<p>

After moving faster to the spaceport, and quickly dealing with the geth troops they encountered, the team arrived to find Nihlus dead. Kaidan approached to scan, just like he had when Jenkins died.

"Killed by a single shot. Close range. Most likely a heavily modified citadel species pistol."

"And I warned him to wear a helmet. What a tragedy. I feel so very, very sorry that he died."

"He just died, commander. Is it too much to ask for you to respect the dead?" Asked Kaidan, while Ashley was silently surveying their environment.

"Wearing a helmet will save your life. And besides, it's-" The commander was interrupted by a sound behind some crates. "HEY YOU! BEHIND THOSE CRATES!" He shouted, "come out, where I can see you, or you'll be seeing grenades."

"Don't shoot! I'm human!" Said the man behind the crates.

"Who are you?" Asked Shepard, trying to find out what happened.

"They call me Ferb, but my name is Phineas Powell." Said the young man, sounding scared.

"Aren't a bit too young to work in the docks?"

"No! I certainly am not."

"Good. Now, Ferb, tell us what happened here?"

"I was just behind these crates when I saw a turian kill that turian. The other one was here first, and this one arrived. He called him Saren, let his guard down, and got shot in the back. I'm lucky he didn't see me."

"We're looking for the prothean beacon. I think it was moved here."

"You can find it on the other platform. I was part of the team that moved it this morning. It's probably reason I am alive, because I was taking a nap behind the crates after all that hard work."

"Well, now you can get back to sleep." Shepard said, and shot him with his laser rifle on stun.

"Commander!" Ashley blurted out.

"I'm saving his life. He will not be able to move for at least several hours. This means that any motion scanner will not pick him up, and it will save his life if any enemies fall back. Getting shot can be great for your health . Now move out."

Taking the monorail to the second platform, the team encountered an increasingly large amount of geth, and had to disarm several nuclear devices powerful enough to irradiate the entire colony. Finally securing the area, the group approached the beacon.

"Shepard to Normandy, come in EDI."

"We hear you, commander."

"Beacon is secure. I request immediate evac at my location."

"Understood. Time to evac, four minutes. Stand by, commander. I am compiling a mission report based on your actions. It will be uploaded once you are securely on board the Normandy."

Turning around to ask his team to set a perimeter, Shepard noticed Kaidan was drawn to the beacon. While not specialized in biotics, a small charge and a push allowed the commander to save his squad member from the effects of the beacon. But he got caught in the field. Slowly drawn by the green light, images flashed through his mind rapidly. Machines killing organics, death and decay- sorrow. But all this seemed to be incomplete, and impossible to understand. Like he was trying to finish a puzzle using only half the pieces.

The information download stopped. In truth, it only lasted a second. But a powerful explosion pushed Shepard away at high velocity. The landing was not soft, and the only reason he was alive was the helmet cushioning the impact to his head. Still, the hit was hard, and he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>Normandy<p>

Later, in the medical room, commander Shepard opened his eyes. Having a massive headache didn't stop him rising from the medical bed.

"Doctor Chakwas, he is awake." Said an unrecognizable voice. It was softly spoken, but for the commander it sounded like screaming.

"You had us worried, commander." Said the doctor, starting a scan, "how are you feeling?"

"My head hurts like hell, and I would really like something for it. How long was I out?" Asked Shepard, curious about his time in the medbay.

"Fifteen hours, commander. Now, hold still." Responded the doctor, taking a hypo-syringe and injecting several substances into his bloodstream.

"Commander, Admiral Anderson expressed a desire to talk with you as soon as you were able." Announced the AI.

"A few moments, EDI." said the doctor, "commander, do you have anything to say about what happened?"

"I had these weird visions before the beacon exploded... strange synthetics killing organics, death, destruction, decay. But I don't think any of this is medical. Only things connected to the beacon. Still, it gave me the feeling that this beacon didn't contain the entire message." Shepard said, "also..." He moved closer to whisper in the doctor's ear, "start Williams on Substance 11."

"I better add this to my report. Downloading information to the brain is dangerous if done in a short amount of time." Chakwas informed him.

"Good to see you transferred to the Normandy, Williams." Said the commander, quickly noticing Anderson walking inside the medbay. 'I knew he wouldn't wait in the meeting room.' "At least we filled the gap left by Jenkins."

"This looks bad, commander." Said Anderson in greeting, making a sign for Chakwas and Ashley to leave the room. "Nihlus is dead, the beacon exploded, and we're left with thousands of casualties. The army will spend days killing what you classified as husks. The council will want answers, especially for their dead agent."

"I did everything right, exactly to the letter. I even asked Nihlus not to go alone, or to at least take a helmet. And if they believe I caused, in any way, the explosion... then they are idiots." Shepard retorted. 'But, strictly speaking, all politicians are idiots. So my chances weren't that good to begin with.'

"I will stand beside you while you make the report to the council. In my books you are a damn hero. You saved the colony." Anderson reassured him, "but the other turian, the one who shot Nihlus, is another spectre. His name is Saren Arterius, a goddamn legend in the citadel space."

"His name sounds familiar. Where did I hear it?" Shepard rubbed at his forehead, "oh, I know him. His brother was the guy who had the worst-case adverse reaction to stun settings. I accidentally killed him."

"Yes, and now he's working with the geth. A rogue spectre is trouble, especially Saren, who has reasons to hate humanity." Anderson sounded troubled. "And his actions with the Geth indicate something to do with the beacon. You said the beacon gave you a vision. We need to say that to the council."

"Fat chance. What can I say to them? I had a vision of a dark future and I want you all to stop what you are doing and jeopardise galactic stability for a dream?" Said the commander, his voice filled with sarcasm, his eyes showing a distinct hatred for the situation.

"Who knows what was inside the beacon? There could have been blueprints to weapons, secrets for long lost technology, leads to a location for a cache of prothean ships... anything."

"You are not afraid of the protheans, and we both know it. The entire galactic fleet would not hold a candle to the fifth fleet alone. What you are afraid of is the return of what killed the old humans. I know you are one of those fearing the return of the so called," Shepard stopped and made air quotes, " 'Reapers'. What killed us in the past will never kill us again. No, I will not tell the citadel council of my vision. I have no desire to be classified as a mad man. We need to take Saren down before he does more damage."

"It will not be that easy. He's a spectre. They have all sorts of resources at their disposition. We need the council on our side." With that, Anderson left the medbay. "You might want to be in the cockpit when Joker brings the Normandy into the citadel docks. I hear the citadel is quite a sight. While nothing compared to our station, the citadel is the biggest station the aliens have to offer."

* * *

><p>Human Embassy<p>

Getting past the asari secretary, admiral Anderson lead the ground team now composed of Alenko, Williams and Shepard to the office of the human ambassador Donnel Udina. Kaidan and Ashley moved to the balcony, enjoying the sights and trying to stay away from the talks.

"This mess will lead to a shitstorm of epic proportions. We have a dead spectre, a colony in shambles, a destroyed beacon, and another specter accused of killing his former protégé. Do you have any idea how damage much your actions have caused?" Asked an angry Donnel Udina.

"I fail to see how this is my fault. Every single action I took was perfectly thought out, and did not cause, in any way, the damage you accuse me of." Shepard replied angrily.

"I know that. And you know that. But the council will not see it as such. Eden Prime was your chance to prove that you could be a great spectre. Now all my work has been set a decade behind. C-sec is doing investigations into Saren. You better hope that they find something, or I will have to resort to plan B." Udina glanced pointedly at Shepard, "I don't like plan B."

"Don't worry, Shepard. I will be there to back you up." Anderson assured him.

"No, you won't. Your presence there will cause more trouble, especially if my request to keep Saren out of the hearing fails. We don't need you messing things up."

"So we are putting our hopes in an alien organization primary staffed by the same race as Saren? At least I hope they will give the team extensive time to gather evidence and access to all of his data. Whilst carefully vetting them to make sure we don't have any hero-worshippers."

"I've no idea. The hearing is in an hour. Do you have anything to share with me? Anything not included in the report?"

"No, nothing that I think should be brought in front of the council." Shepard replied, though he couldn't help thinking of his vision.

"Don't be late. Until then, you are free to do whatever you want. Enjoy the sights." Udina concluded, ushering the ground team outside and starting to argue with the admiral.

Leaving the office, the squad noticed a man arguing with the asari secretary. Shepard, (as always) bored and wanting something to do, decided to step in.

"Hello! My name is commander Jack Donnel David Jeremiah Shepard. Is there a problem here?" Asked the commander.

"Mr Samesh Bhatia over here doesn't seem to understand when I explain to him that I have no authority over when or if his wife's body will be released." Explained the asari.

"What's this about your wife?" Asked Kaidan, before his superior could ask.

"My wife..." responded the clearly sad man, "served in 212." Here, Ashley's face was overcome with sorrow and guilt. "And I have been informed that they will not release her body for cremation."

"Mr Bhatia, we will do the best we can to reunite you with your wife." Ashley promised before anyone else could speak up.

"Sorry, Ashley, but we're in a bit of a situation here." Said Shepard, noticing the betrayed look on his subordinate's face. "I am sure the military will arrange proper funerals. But, Mr Bhatia," and here the commander looked straight at the man, "you must understand that your wife is saving lives- even in her death. Isn't it selfish on your side to just want to cremate the body, when your wife is doing so much? And, if may ask, why are you in such a rush? What has it been, sixteen hours since the attack?"

"She was my wife, damn you all! She already gave her life. What more do you want from her?"

"So, you are nothing than a grieving man, who is now falling in desperation at the loss of his love. You need help. I will give you the number of some people you should talk to, grievance counselors. They can help you pass over your loss." Pressing a few buttons on the omnitool, Shepard transferred several of his contacts.

Moving away, and having had enough with helping people, (at least for the next hour) the commander decided to relax. The multitude of races on the presidium brought only one thing to his mind. 'I wonder how good is the ice-cream ishere'.

* * *

><p>Council Tower<p>

People could say whatever they wanted about the efficiency of the mass transit system of the citadel- but the speed of elevators was killing Shepard.

"Finally, here we are. A few more minutes, and I would've tried mag-boots on the tower." Ashley groaned, expressing her hatred of the citadel elevators.

Two turians were talking near the stairs.

"Saren is hiding something. I need more time. Stall them."

The other turian shook his head. "Stall the council? No, your investigation is over. You found nothing, because there is nothing to find"

"I only had five hours to investigate, and I no access to his files. Give me a day, I'm sure we can find something."

"This is out of my hands, and there is nothing more you can do. We're closing the case, and that's final." With that he stormed towards the elevators. He had nothing to present to the council, so there was no reason for him to waste the council's time. The first the turian, seeming younger, approached Shepard.

"Commander Shepard? My name is Garrus Vakarian. I was charged with investigating Saren, however short that time was."

"Who was that other guy?" Asked Kaidan.

"My boss, executor Pallin. He cut my investigation short, and was then angry that he had nothing to present to the council."

"I think we're up, commander."

"The geth attack is worrisome, but there is nothing to indicate Saren's involvement in the attack." Said the asari councilor.

"The C-sec found no evidence of any of the accusations forwarded." Said the turian councilor, at this point in a fully-pledged vendetta against Udina. While still holding this position, every day that passed increased the chances of him being dishonorably recalled. The human ambassador was dead set on trying to make that a definite outcome.

"We have an eye witness testimony, saying Saren killed Nihlus in cold blood."

"Yes, the traumatized babbling of a dock worker. Who, by your own admission, survived only because he was lazy and hid behind the crates to sleep." The salarian councilor sneered.

"So, who will personally vouch for Saren's integrity?" Asked Udina.

"I will." Responded the turian councilor. "He is an excellent spectre, who fulfilled every mission we asked of him perfectly. I would personally stake my reputation on the fact that he is innocent of these allegations."

"So, you publicly declare that you will step down from your council seat if Saren is guilty?" Asked Udina, positioning the turian for his political death.

"Yes. My trust is absolute."

While initially Saren was supposed to be present via hologram, the very insistent requests of Udina managed to force the issue- and had, for the moment, left the spectre out of the talks.

"You need to open his case files, and allow C-sec investigators to find any evidence. And I when I say 'investigators' I am referring to a team doing weeks of work. Not letting a single guy work for five hours and then calling it quits." Shepard interjected.

"We lack any evidence to condemn Saren. Opening his case files would endanger him as an active spectre. The logical conclusion would be to keep his files closed, if no accusation stands."

"Is there anything more that any of you would like to add?" Asked Tevos, looking around at her colleagues and the humans in the room."There has been no evidence to sustain the accusations of treason and genocide forwarded by the human embassy. The petition to revoke the spectre status of Saren Arterius is denied. The meeting is adjourned."

Walking away from the podium, the commander was feeling powerless to fight the system.

"What can we do now?" Asked Shepard.

"We need to expose Saren. While as a spectre he is virtually untouchable, if we find enough evidence for the accusations to stand, his status will be revoked" Responded Udina.

"Tell me what I need to do."

Udina had to think about that. He knew for sure that he would find evidence against Saren if given a day, but the commander would need to be distracted- he couldn't mess this up. 'I have the perfect idea. Give him some crumbs and long shots; let him draw attention to himself. Meanwhile, I'll gather the information I need to bring the spectre down. Then... finally- yes, finally- the turian councilor will fall.' "You could try finding the first investigator, and see what he found. Also, try visiting a banker named Barla Von. He is an information broker for some shadow intelligence agent named the Shadow Broker."

"Will do. Thanks for the tips." Shepard replied rather happily, walking away from the ambassador. 'So, he has the same ideas about any leads. Or, at least in the citadel. In his place, I would contact central intelligence and see what they can find if C-sec is not capable. Oh, well. I don't have a high enough rank to get anything useful from central intelligence anyway, so I'm stuck with the dirty work'.

Unnoticed by the commander, Udina pressed his communication device- contacting his secretary. "Nassana, get me central intelligence on the line."

* * *

><p>C-sec Academy<p>

The information from Barla Von, while not very helpful, lead the team to a mercenary hired by the Shadow Broker to kill somebody who betrayed him for Saren. Normally, the commander would've chosen to go with the investigator. Garrus sounded honest, but he had no idea where to find him. So, here they were at the C-sec academy, expecting to find the mercenary (and maybe some info on Garrus).

"You were seen making threats at a bar named Chora Den." Said the under-armed and under-armored human C-sec, "stay away from Fist."

"You don't control me," said the krogan with a distinct smile, almost inviting the C-sec to attack. Shepard recognized him. Urdnot Wrex, the fourth best mercenary in the galaxy- just a spot above the highest ranking human.

"This is your final warning." Said the human.

"Fist will die." Wrex said with a smile, inviting the human to fight back.

"Do you want me to arrest you?" Asked the C-sec.

"I'd like to see you try." Scoffed the krogan, moving his hand to his shotgun.

Shepard decided to intervene before things ended with a shooting, or worse. But maybe the krogan was smarter than this, and was simply trying to see how far the human C-sec would bend. Not that it really mattered. "Urdnot Wrex?" He asked, trying to get his attention.

"Yes, human." The C-sec decided this was the right time to leave, so he left the commander alone with the Krogan.

"My name is commander Kane Darthemius Charles Shepard. I am here to ask you about your mission for the Shadow Broker."

"Fist works for Saren, so he will die." Said Wrex with a smile on his face.

"I will help you with that, but I want any information you might have on Saren." Said the commander with a knowing smile on his face. 'I get to shoot stuff, , that's my idea of fun.'

"You got yourself a deal." Replied the krogan.

"Great. But, first, we have to recruit a turian C-sec officer named Garrus Vakarian... and I have no idea where he is." .

"C-sec keeps the location of all the officers and their destinations in a protected server. Luckily for you, I paid a guy, and now I have the password." Said Wrex, checking his omnitool, "he is heading to a clinic in the wards. I have the location."

"Then let's go."

The Clinic

Shepard, Kaidan, Ashley and Wrex were getting to the clinic. Shepard took this time to get to know Wrex better, and talk about his article in his favorite magazine Badass Monthly.

"Who did you tell about the quarian?" A man shouted.

"I didn't tell a soul. I swear!" A woman insisted.

Shepard decided to barge in with his laser rifle drawn and set to kill."Let her go."

The thug looked at Shepard, his attention shifted. He never noticed Garrus, who was already prepared to kill. All he needed was one shot, and one shot was all it took. While humans could usually live after three or four average shots, incendiary rounds were another deal. One shot to the head, and the brain was burnt to a crisp.

"Thanks for the distraction, Shepard. I was able to get a clear shot on the bastard." Said Garrus, holstering his weapon.

"My pleasure. Doctor Michel, are you hurt?"

"No, but I am a bit shaken. You are here about the quarian, right?" Replied the doctor.

Shepard had no idea what this quarian deal was, but Garrus seem to know- so he decided to play along and act like he was after the quarian as well. "Yes. I came here trying to find new leads on her location."

"She wanted to deal with the Shadow Broker. Sadly, quarians are not usually allowed on the presidium, so instead of Barla Von I sent her to Fist at Chora Den. This was his thug, trying to keep me silent."

"So, we're off to Chora Den. Thanks, doc." Said the commander while walking out the door with his team (plus the turian). "Garrus, you'll be coming with me. Any objections?"

"No objections here, commander. I want to see Saren sent down as much as you." Said Garrus with conviction, "he is a disgrace to all turians."

Chora Den

Surprisingly, the team was expected at the Chora Den- by several mercenaries.

"Come on, Shepard. Do you want to live forever?" Said Wrex, rhetorically, and charged in with his shotgun before Shepard could respond with a resounding 'YES!'.

The bar was larger than the group expected, easily two dozen mercenaries were defending Fist. Still, badly armed and poorly trained mercenaries made little threat for trained soldiers. Before long, the squad was face to face with their target.

"Hello, Fist. You are deep s*th, and I am not talking about the fun type. Damn, I have so many name puns and so little time. Tell us where the quarian is, or I'll shoot." Said Shepard, pointing his laser gun at Fist and loading the emitter.

"Don't shoot!" Fist pleaded, "she is in the back ally. The meeting is in four minutes, and my guys have orders to kill her."

"Thanks, Fist." Said the commander, and he turned to Wrex, "shoot him."

"Wait! No! We had a deal!" Fist began to wail.

"Your deal was with me, and I will keep my promise and not shoot you. You should be glad that I don't have time get the omniblade out and play a lovely game of vivisection. Did you know that the liver is my favorite internal organ?" Shepard chuckled manically.

The krogan pun his shotgun into Fist's face and squeezed the trigger. Human brains colored the floor. "WREXED!" He yelled.

Shepard started laughing. "Oh, man, imagine if Fist tried the same catchphrase!" The krogan seemed confused, which only made Shepard laugh harder.

"Commander, the quarian." said Kaidan.

"Oh, right, the quarian. Everybody run!" Shepard shouted, using a biotic charge as speed booster.

When they arrived at the back alley, the team could see the mercenaries were ready to attack. Kaidan charged towards the furthest one, and hit him in the face with rifle, then shooting him in the face with the setting on full heat. Wrex charged and shot another, yelling his catchphrase. Ashley, using Alliance Army standard weapons, shot an explosive round from her rifle; bypassing the kinetic barriers and spreading the insides of the targeted salarian all over the alley.

Shepard, besides being pissed at his kill-stealing team, approached the quarian. "Are you hurt?"

"While my suit lacks armor, the shields more then make up for it." Said the quarian. "I am fine, but I really appreciate the help."

Shepard froze. The quarian had the most adorable accent. He could have easily hugged her. He wanted to tell her that everything would be fine, maybe offer some warm milk and cookies.

"This man is team leader commander Shepard." Said Ashley, pointing towards her shell-shocked superior, "and we are looking for any information you might have on the spectre named Saren."

"Then I will have a chance to repay you for saving my life," said the quarian, "but I would rather not discuss this in an alley. There could be more mercenaries."

"We can do this in Udina's office. That would be the safest place on the citadel. But first I have to make a stop at a milkshake joint to check something."

Garrus was experiencing a strange feeling. While this was what he wanted (the no rules, no paperwork, no waiting for permission) his C-sec officer training was screaming at him. He had just helped a group of people assault a bar, kill the owner and his bodyguards, and then splattered an alley with blood of different species. And now? Now and he was simply going to walk away. Leaving the scene of the massacre to be found by who happened to stumble across it first. His conscience kicked in, and he tapped several buttons on the omnitool, announcing what had happened to the C-sec VI dispatcher.

* * *

><p>Human Embassy<p>

"Do you have any idea what you did, Shepard? Firefight in the wards, an assault on a bar named Chora's Den, over two dozen mercenaries killed."

'Offering a great distraction for me.'

"How, exactly, is this helping us take down Saren?" Asked Udina. 'While it will be hard to convince C-sec to drop all charges, the helmet camera recordings will prove entertaining.'

"We have information that could prove Saren is guilty. This quarian over here," Shepard gestured to her, "claims to have evidence against him."

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." She said, curtsying.

"So, miss Zorah, I understand that while on your pilgrimage you came to possess dangerous intelligence. Information that could get you killed. Or, in this situation, help us bring down a spectre." Udina was pressing a few buttons on his keyboard while talking.

"Yes. I was tracking a geth patrol in the Traverse, trying to find a useful gift-" Tali began, but was interrupted.

The commander broke in loudly. "Excuse me for sounding culturally insensitive, and racist, but can anybody here tell me what is this 'pilgrimage' thing is?"

Tali started happily to talk about the pilgrimage, always eager to share information about quarian culture. "The pilgrimage is a rite of passage into adulthood for my people. Before it, we are children, wandering the stars. We return as adults, with a gift to contribute to our new home." 'And it is symbolic of my people's hopes for the future... to one day return to our homeworld.'

"So you're a kid on a journey to be recognized as an adult. More or less?"

"Kid? I am able to protect myself. And, I must say, quite good with a shotgun."

"Back to the matter at hand. Miss Zorah, can you please forward the files?" Asked Garrus, a bit curious as to what the quarian might have on the spectre.

"Oh, right," Shepard began, "we already have her files. EDI copied them in the alley. But I thought we should keep an eye on her. Saren might try to kill her, and I want to be there to stop it."

Udina looked over the files. "Audio, and pieces of some sort of geth codex. Impressive. We weren't able to recover any intact geth memory banks."

"It requires fast work and a bit of luck, and even then my people might not get anything more then fragments." Tali replied.

"I think we should take a break. Sleep a night at the embassy compound, and present the data tomorrow." Shepard suggested. Everyone seemed to agree. "Great. Now let's visit the presidium, see the sights. Now that I think about it, I heard the elcor and the volus have a combined embassy. I would love to see them talk."

Presidium (AN: here starts a long chunk of side missions, it provides a good amount of character development for Shepherd. If you want to skip it press Ctrl+F or whatever quick search option your browser has and write 0930)

Garrus returned to his apartment. Wrex said something about a bar. Kaidan needed to return to the Normandy because he had a headache, and Ashley had to escort Tali to the embassy compound. So commander Shepard changed into formal uniform, kept his weapons, and found himself alone walking towards to the combined elcor and volus embassy.

"With a concerning tone of desperation: I request an urgent meeting with the elcor ambassador on matters concerning the consort." Said an elcor in the hall of the embassy.

"And I told you, Dekuuna-clan, the elcor ambassador has his schedule occupied." A volus replied, sounding annoyed.

"What's the problem here?" Asked Shepard.

"With increasing optimism: my name is Xeltan." Said the elcor, "you might be able to help."

"Always eager to help." Replied the commander, amused at the elcor's method of speaking.

"Disappointed: the asari consort Sha'ira is releasing classified information concerning myself."

"Don't worry, I'll try and get to the bottom of this." Shepard said, and left. 'A mysterious navy marine found himself late in the morning of life, wandering the citadel streets on a mission for a foreign politician. The clock ticks, late afternoon; the low synthetic lighting buzzing incessantly.' The commander grimaced. 'I should stop letting Joker pick movies. The detective ones he picks exaggerate on narration.' He found himself in from of the consort's chambers. 'Let's see if I can get a meeting with this hetaera'.

Consort Chambers

"Hello. My name is Xavier Sheldon Nicklaus Damian Shepard, and I would like a meeting with the consort."

If the girl on reception was bothered by his armed presence, or his official dress, she didn't show it. Instead, she pressed several buttons "Commander Shepard, you have been flagged for direct access, if the consort is available. Go right on in."

Walking to the door, the commander found himself in nicely decorated room. The main feature was a large couch, and on it was an asari eating the most surprising thing of all: grapes. 'It's interesting to see grapes so far away from the solar system.' He decided to introduce himself, but he was interrupted.

"Commander Shepard, my contacts say great things about you..." Said the consort in a seductive voice.

"Sha'ira, the famed consort," said Shepard in reply, taking a seat on the couch and looking at the asari. "I think you heard about the ambassador trying to set me for the position of the first human spectre, and you decided to give me free access in case I happen to wander around. You would have nothing to lose. But, if it worked, you would have contact to another spectre."

"Humans! As delightful as ever." Sha'ira sighed, taking another grape, "why do you have to second guess things, and not enjoy the moment?"

"What is it with asari liking humans, anyway?"

"Because we are in private, I will indulge you. Now listen carefully, and do not interrupt me. Asari are attracted to two things. Power, and mystery. They usually spend their entire maidenhood searching for either of them. And then, in come the humans. Old, powerful, immortal humans. When the protheans were barely walking the universe, you were building stations that could rival planetoids. How could we not be attracted to you?"

"Still, it's kind of hard to believe that all asari are drawn to mystery so easily."

"Humans are simply the best choice. Every other race has... issues."

"I... I'm not sure I follow."

"Asari with asari, while sounding attractive, and rather nice to watch..." Sha'ira winked, "can cause genetic deformations, and a great number of other problems. With turians, you cannot get close and personal without the... chafing issue. Salarians die too quickly, and they lack a biological sex drive. The volus and vorcha are just disgusting, especially up close and personal. Elcor look, to some people, like farm animals. Hanar, while fun in bed, in theory, are overrated. And they always have to wear synthetic skin or they will dehydrate and die. Quarian. Now, quarians used to be fun, but losing their immune system means one night will put them in hospital. What is left? Oh, the krogan. Have you ever considered kissing a krogan? No? Well, here is some advice from me to you- don't. The last on this list is the batarians, and we can all agree those are disgusting." Sha'ira stopped and took another grape, "then the humans come into the scene. Similar body to the asari, no chafing. An unlimited lifespan, with experience and a great thirst for new ideas... always eager to explore."

"Now I can see what you are referring to. Still, I am still here on another mission. I heard you were spreading rumors about a elcor diplomat."

"Oh, are you referring to Xeltan? No, it wasn't me. It was a turian general named Septimus. He is infatuated with me, and I have been forced to deal with his constant harassment." Sha'ira cupped the commander's face with a soft hand. "If you would deal with him for me, I would be very grateful to you."

It only took Shepard a few minutes to find the very inebriated Septimus. He was babbling about Chora Den closing down, his glass filled with a blue-colored drink. It took the commander all of two minutes to change the general's current drink with one that, in his current state, would be lethal.

After returning to Sha'ira, the commander was surprised to see that he was allowed inside (again) without any problems. "For somebody who people spend months booking for in advance, you seem to have a great amount of free time."

"Oh, no. Certainly not. I usually have three or four meetings a day, planned months in advance. Depending on how important a person, is they could be waiting for an hour or half a year" she replied.

"Good to know. I've silenced general Septimus. For good." Shepard couldn't contain the evil smile on his face.

"Allow me to offer you a gift." Said the consort with a smile. Her eyes turned black, her voice changing- the room dropped dramatically in temperature. "I offer a gift of words. An affirmation of who you are, and who you will become... I see you, your uniform fits as if you were born wearing it. You are a soldier through and through. Proud, unshaken, driven and ruthless... but it gives you strength. You never hide it, either. It serves you well. It terrifies your foes. Few will dare to stand against you. This may be who you are, but it is not who you will become. It only forms the shape for your future greatness. Remember these words when doubt descends, Commander." With a deep exhale her eyes regained their natural colour. The room, once again rather suddenly, began to feel warm again.

Shepard looked unimpressed. "Is that all?"

"No. That is not all."

A good amount of time later, a whistling commander left the consort chamber building and was moving to the financial district. He was going to set up a banking account with Barla Von. He was stopped by the sound of two people arguing.

"What is the matter here?" Asked Shepard. 'I love to intrude'.

"I lost my husband in the Eden Prime attack." Said the woman, "and I cannot seem to convince my brother-in-law to get extensive genetic modification for the child I carry, or let him choose what he needs later in life."

"So your brother," began the commander, though he was quickly interrupted by the man.

"Twin brother."

"Twin brother," he amended, "recently died, and you're already hooking up with his wife. Way to go, man, high five!"

"What?!"

"You use the kid. who, by the way, genetically could also be counted as your child, to get close to the lady. After a while she gets close to you, either forming attachment or simply remaining attached to your brother's memory. The final effect is the same, you get to bang her." Finished the commander, and both persons stormed off in opposite directions. 'Oh, how I love helping people. How it fills my soul with joy. Oh, look! A hanar making a scene'.

"This one has the right to spread the joy of the enkindlers to all the species of the citadel."

"Sir, I am afraid that I will have to ask you to leave you if don't buy an evangelical license." Said a turian C-sec officer.

"May I intervene?" Asked Shepard, though he didn't wait for permission. "If I understand correctly, the hanar only want to help the souls of the presidium citizens, allowing them to repent and save their souls by worshipping the 'enkindlers'. Right?"

"This one is surprised by how well the human understands the situation." Replied the hanar, while the turian had a look on his face that said 'not another mad man.'

"But, doesn't your religion teach respect to the rules set by society? And, if I recall correctly, you are misusing the greatest gift the 'enkindlers' gave your kind by breaking the law. What would they say if they found you here on their station, breaking the law?"

"This one is ashamed of his actions. This one will retreat to solitary and ask for forgiveness from the enkindlers." Said the hanar, and while his tone of voice didn't change, he sounded greatly disappointed.

"Oh, before you leave," said Shepard, smiling "I once knew a hanar. All the faith he had? It had no effect on the outcome of his life. Enjoy your grammatical BSOD."

The turian thanked him, and the commander headed to a bar to spent the rest of the night there.

* * *

><p>Council Tower, 0930 Citadel Standard Time<p>

Everything was ready. Saren was contacted and present via hologram. Anderson was confined to the Normandy. Central intelligence found enough evidence to convict the rouge spectre several times over. Shepard was smart enough to know when to talk. Tali'Zorah was back at the embassy compound, slurping a milkshake; and, at Shepard's insistence, paperwork was filled to allow several aliens to work on Shepard's team. Kaidan was occupied filling said paperwork. Ashley William was occupied filing complains against serving in the same team as aliens.

Udina started presenting his evidence in Saren's presence. "I would like to forward to the council several files I think you need to take into consideration. Here are several photos of the spectre on Eden Prime, a video from a closed circuit camera at the docks showing Saren killing Nihlus in cold blood. Another video, showing him tampering with the protean beacon. A third video, showing the geth planning a dirty nuclear weapon at his request. An audio recording showing him bragging that the attack on Eden Prime would get him closer something named the 'conduit', and a reply from an individual that has been identified as matriarch Benezia, insisting this will bring them closer to the reapers. For anyone asking, in the geth version of the codex, the reapers are defined as race of synthetics who killed the protheans."

"These implications worrying. Geth attacks will prove problematic... and the existence of a synthetic race who killed the protheans, and still exists today... I don't think problematic describes that well enough. Investigations must be started."

Saren was left speechless, and so was the turian councilor. He knew this was the end of him, after he'd risked his position to defend Saren.

Tevos joined the discussion. "The amount of evidence provided supports the accusations of high treason, genocide, the destruction of high-level protean artifacts, the attempted destruction of a garden class planet, and the murder of another spectre. In light of these revelations," and here she stopped, looking to the salarian councilor for confirmation, "the council has decided to revoke Saren's spectre status."

Saren quickly closed the communication link, and his immense hologram disappeared. The turian councilor stopped moving- utterly frozen. This was his end. His political suicide.

"If this was a normal case, I would have suggested to send the fleets to hunt him down. But this is not a normal case. A fleet might scare him into hiding so well that he vanishes."

"I forward a motion to position Shepard as a spectre, with a mandate to hunt down and kill Saren." Udina proposed, smiling. Finally, his moves of the last several years were coming to fruition. The experts had calculated that a council seat would be opened in the next three to four years for humanity. Tevos was already on his side, and the salarians would be easily swayed with the promise of immortality. All he needed was a more malleable turian councilor, and he would easily get a unanimous decision.

Tevos and the salarian seemed to agree. The asari pressed several buttons on the console. "By the authority of the council, I name commander Shepard as an agent of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance bureau, with all of the privileges and attributes it entails. As your first task, you are to stop the rogue spectre Saren, and to locate the conduit."

"That ends the meeting. " Said the salarian, motioning for his colleagues to leave the room.

"You will need a ship, and equipment worthy of a spectre. Gather whoever you want to take with you on the mission. I will contact you in four hours with the details." Udina told Shepard, before leaving him to open the communication link. "Nassana, get me special requisitions on the line."

Shepard was occupied messaging Tali, Ashley, Kaidan, Wrex and Garrus. While he was on it, he also sent several other invitations. To the hanar on the presidium, for 'religious support'; the bartender where he got drunk last night for 'moral support'; and to Barla Von for 'financial support'. From all of his message, the volus was the most important.

"Commander Shepard," a seemingly impatient salarian holding a StarChit coffee cup waved towards him. He seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood. "I heard about your appointment as a spectre, and I was thinking that you might want to help me scan the keepers."

"Let me understand this," said the recently named spectre, "I was promoted to spectre less then a few minutes ago, and you want me to sabotage citadel operations? This is either a test, a joke set up by the other spectres. or the delusions of a salarian who has had too much coffee."

"No, commander. My offer is legitimate." The salarian tried to assure him.

"I understand." Shepard said. "C-SEC!" He shouted, and two officers rushed to the location with weapons ready. "This man has intentions to sabotage the citadel. He might be in cahoots with Saren. I'll forward video evidence. How about you stick him in a nice, comfy cell for the next fifty years?"

* * *

><p>C-sec Academy<p>

Some time after a very long visit to the consort, the commander found himself following Udina's instructions to head to the C-sec Academy, and then take an elevator to the docking bays. Instructions for the meeting location were passed along to everybody who RSVP-ed the invitation. The banker, bartender and the hanar refused to join.

A reporter approached him. "Khalisah Bint Sinan Al-Jilani. Would you like to answer a few questions for our viewers?"

Shepard shrugged. "Of course. " His tone changing to something altogether chilling, a great emulation of his mother's frightful tone. "But before the interview begins I will like to inform you that, as a spectre, I have every right to kill you if I feel that your actions are a threat to galactic stability. The only authority allowed to question this decision would be the council, and I don't think they'd get all that hot and bothered about a reporter. Do you?"

"I- I..." The reporter stammered, before running past an approaching Wrex.

"What did you do to her?" Asked the krogan.

"Some people only alive because it would be illegal to shoot them. I gently explained to her that, as a spectre, I have open season for idiots."

Several minutes later, everyone was bored inside the elevator. Ashley decided to satisfy her curiosity. "Commander, I've heard you present yourself with hundreds of different names. What's the deal with that?"

"Well, to make a long story short... you know the 'I will name my first born after you' thing?" Ashley nodded. "Well, my mother tended to promise this to everyone. Legally, I have two hundred and fifty five first names, and one hundred and twenty seven middle names. I tend to alternate."

Docking Bay

The elevator journey finally ended, and Shepard (plus the rest) found themselves face to face with admiral Anderson and ambassador Udina, right next to the Normandy.

"Admiral Anderson will be renouncing his commanding position of the Normandy. Commander Shepard is now the acting captain." Said the ambassador, surprising mostly everybody.

"Wait! You are leaving him," and here Kaidan pointed at Shepard, "in command?!" Images flashed in his mind- long sessions of psychological therapy, disgusting substances finding their way onto his desk, waking up in the middle of the night with his bed on fire for random 'fire drills'."You can't leave us!" He pleaded to Anderson.

"She's quick and quiet. Perfect ship for a spectre."Said the admiral, refusing to acknowledge Kaidan's outburst.

"I don't know why you didn't expect this. I mean, they make the perfect ship for a spectre, and they make a spectre candidate the XO. If this wasn't premeditated, then the guys in charge of stuff like this are morons."

"I took the liberty to fully stock the Normandy with the best equipment in the System Alliance. This includes the good military rations, in dextro and levo versions." Said Udina.

"What can I say? Thanks, I guess." Said Shepard, "all aboard! Tali, dear, could you wait for a few minutes? we need to have a talk."

"Yes, Shepard?" Asked the quarian.

"The Normandy SR-2 is controlled by an AI. Would you have any problems with her?" Asked Shepard, trying to clear any problems before the journey started.

"But, Shepard... AI are dangerous. We are fighting the geth. How can you be sure that your AI will not rebel and betray you?"

"AI have been our friends and allies long before the first protheans travelled the stars. I've read the news. The quarian flotilla attack by unknown human ships. Those were ordered by a terrorist faction named Cerberus." Said the commander, knowing he had gained her attention. "Join me, work with the AI, and I will find a way to attack Cerberus and avenge the deaths of all those quarians."

"I trust you, Shepard." Said Tali, and she was telling the truth. The commander only expressed warmth towards her, and he seemed protective of her. "I will work with a synthetic, if that is necessary to stop Saren and punish Cerberus." She entered the ship. The shuttle that she used to travel on the pilgrimage was left in alliance custody, to be passed to another quarian.

Everyone was settled on the ship, Shepard was next to the pilot. "Take us out, Joker. Nice and easy."

"Want to make a little speech, commander?"

"Great idea. Open ship-wide." The commander waited for confirmation from EDI. "This is Shepard speaking. We have one mission, find and end Saren. Let's get to work, people."

"These are the voyages of the starship Normandy, in its continuing mission to find old life and civilization."

"Joker, please cease your narration.".

The END. Next on Human Mass we have Artemis Tau and road to Liara.

* * *

><p>Codex<p>

Normandy SR-2 – The initial ship proved to be under performing in the tests so the navy decided to up the scale and build it bigger, better, more powerful. Armament: 1 PAC rack of 3 capital grade PACS(Mk VII), cyberwarfare systems, 4x point defense lasers. Defensive: plasma shielding, kinetic barriers as supplementary. Engine: hyperdrive, plasma-ion sublight engine, eezo FTL. Power supply: 1x Mini plasma reactor mark IX.Supplementary: Stealth system.

***classified*** weakness: plasma shielding impossible to power while using stealth. ***classified***

Stealth system – Advanced heat containment systems combined with holographic projections creates the best starship based stealth system the system alliance can make.

AN: This is it people, the longest chapter I made. Hope you like it.

I would like to say a big thank you to my first flamer/flamers for all the support, I LOVE YOU. Keep doing the good work. Also a big thanks to anybody who reads this. Thanks for enduring my grammar and bad plot. Hope you like or hate Shepard because he is here to stay and will not leave even if [spoiler] he dies [/spoiler].

I await your PM or review with opinions of the story. Complains are more then welcomed. Suggestions for the future even better.

Flamers and Trolls allowed. No dark elves or asgardians allowed.


	6. Human Mass VI

Disclaimer: Mass effect belongs to Bioware and/or EA (and not to the author of the fiction) any other elements of this respective fiction belong to their respective owners and not to the author of the fiction.

Warning: Use of illicit substances presented in this chapter, Shepard's ideas and opinions are not the same with the opinions of the fiction author.

**BETA'D: I HAVE A BETA, go and hug The Wistful Bloom and say thanks for fixing the story.**

* * *

><p>"The humans of old had a hatred of chickens so great that they served their unborn children the flesh of the dead and called it 'chicken schnitzels'."<p>

The distribution of crew rooms had been less hassle than expected. Tali took the port-side cargo room, so she could spend all of her free time looking at the engines; Garus took the hangar and started calibrating the weapons on the Mako and the shuttle; Wrex set up shop in the bar; Shepard moved to the captain's quarters; Kaidan took the XO's room, and that left Ashley to play with the weapons in the hangar, becoming the ship's new requisition officer.

Several crew members of the Normandy took this opportunity to leave the ship, requesting transfers to anything not run by a Shepard.

Commander Joseph Adolf Genghis Shepard decided to pay a visit to the doctor after changing into his new casual uniform. Slowly walking into the medbay, he could see Kaidan complaining about the headaches.

"Commander, what are you doing dressed like that?" Asked Kaidan, amazed at the current state of his leader.

Dressed in only shorts and a T-Shirt, the commander decided to answer. "This ship is under my command, and according to citadel law I am outside any rank and protocol. So, by Shepard's executive decision zero-zero-one, the commander is allowed to dress any f*cking way he wants, and is permitted to go commando."

"I'm sure the latter option is completely unnecessary." The doctor replied.

"By the way, doc. Substance 11 has shown to be very effective. I propose we keep the subject under observations, and bring them here for some tests, but I think we should sell the formula." Said Shepard.

"What substance? What subject? What formula?"

"The untested and highly dangerous anti-PTSD medicine we have been sneaking into Ashley's bloodstream." The commander explained, "anti depressants, slow-acting ecstasy, and several other substances you've never heard of."

"But... testing dangerous medicine on the people under your command is completely unethical. What would you have done if Ashley had reacted badly?" Kaidan tone was accusative.

"Ethics!" Shepard scoffed, and then he and the doctor started laughing like he had said the funnies thing in the universe.

"Commander," said Kaidan, after they had stopped laughing. His voice was somewhat anxious. "Are you testing any dangerous medicine on me?"

"You have no untested substances in your bloodstream right now," Shepard assured him, quelling any worries his subordinate had. 'Though I can't say the same for a number of tested substances'.

"It's suspicious..." said Kaidan, "but I'll take it. Still, why are you doing this?"

"To get rich." Was the commander's immediate response. "Money can't buy happiness, but crying on silk sheets in the arms of an asari maiden is the next best thing."

"I'm doing it for laughs, and obviously bragging rights." The doctor replied, "do you have any idea how hard it is to get any recognition these days?"

"Okay, okay, you've convinced me. I won't tell Ash."

"Oh, so it's 'Ash' now, is it?" Shepard teased.

"You know what, commander?" Kaidan began, but lost his words. He tried to think of something clever, but he could only muster a hurried "screw you!" before storming out of the door.

"So, doc," Shepard smirked at her, "you ever done the horizontal tango on hospital beds?"

"Sorry, Shep. Not interested in you" responded the doctor.

"Then I guess I'll go hit the bar. I got some... well, let's say narcotics, from a hooker on the citadel. Don't tell her I called her a hooker. She's sensitive about that."

Slowly making his way to the bar, the commander encountered Ashley alone in the mess hall.

"Hello, commander."

"Hi, Ash. Did you know we received some cool gear from special requisition? I want you to gather all the ground crew in the hangar bay and bring them up to speed."

"But, commander... are you sure that we should be giving the aliens our best tech?"

"Ashley. Ash. Fire and brimstone. It all comes down to meat shields. If you have well armed and well armored expendable troops, then you've got a good chance of staying alive," the commander lowered his voice, leaning in, "do you want to put us humans in danger? Or the aliens?"

"I understand, commander. I'll make sure everyone is fully armed and armored, even if I have to do it against their will." Ashley saluted in a military fashion, and then left to prepare the hangar.

"You do that." Said the commander as he watched her go, before continuing on his route to the bar. 'People are so easy to manipulate... especially if you know what they hate, and what they fear.'

Just as he was entering the bar, EDI's could be heard over the internal communication system. "All ground personnel to the hangar bay for the distribution of new armament."

* * *

><p>Normandy SR-2, Hangar Bay<p>

Kaidan, Garrus, Tali and Wrex were all seated on crates, waiting to be presented new gear.

"We shall go over each piece of technology. You will not interrupt me. Any questions you may have will be addressed after the presentation. You will use the weapons and armor presented, unless you can convince me that what you have is better. Understood?"

"Understood." Kaidan replied for them all.

"Good. The first thing to present is the Paladin Mk III armor. It is usually not deployed, because it requires expensive and specialized fabricators to be used for maintenance after each mission. The same fabricators allow us to make the armor for any body shape and size, so there should be no problem in making it to krogan requirements. The shielding system is dampening-based, like all System Alliance armor, allowing the users to take a greater amount of fire than any citadel-race armor. The material is the important part. Photocell coating, on trinium micro-plates disposed in honeycombed formation, with iridium-aerogel and trinium paste to solidify in case of a breach. It seals any puncture. The entire armor is two inches thick, and has lots of these hexagonal tubes, so don't worry- it will hold. VI controlled servo and artificial muscles are available as mods, if the user requires extra strength. Any questions?"

Tali'Zorah was, in that moment, a very happy quarian. And very glad that her mask was nearly opaque, because she was drooling. She wanted to ask if they had a sterilized room, so she could change, but at that moment she would've endured half a year of sickness just to get the wonder-armor on.

"Does it come in red?" Asked Wrex.

"Every armor comes off the fabricator in gray. But it contains limited photocells that can chance color. Usually, people leave it gray." Ashley replied. "Any more questions? No? Good. We'll move to the rifle while the fabricator makes your armor."

Tali's drooling was now reaching critical levels, and her mind was swearing eternal allegiance for being allowed to use this armor.

"I would've preferred the explosive ammunition the army deploys, but we might be dealing with more geth than we have bullets for. So. we're using lasers. This is," and here Ashley raised a gray and red rifle, "the Pacifier Mk XVII laser rifle. It's capable of firing four thousand and forty eight standard unmodified laser shots before re-loading. It is fully programmable for any desired fire rate, and includes heat, disruptor, stun and armor-piercing ammo settings as standard. The reloading is fast and easy, and each of you will receive two magazines besides the one in the rifle. And, after each mission, you'll need to link them to the ship's power system to reload the magazines. Questions?"

"Can we alter the settings to use four times the power in a single shot?" Asked Garrus.

"The settings allow you to burn the entire ammunition in a single shot, so I don't see any problems with that. Just don't complain about a lack of ammo."

"Not everyone here prefers a rifle, so I think people should decide if they want one before a mission." Kaidan suggested.

"I'm sure we can sort that out. Now, the next on the list is the shotgun. The Expeditor Mk III sonic shock weapon. The standard magazine capacity is seven hundred. This is non-programmable. It is extremely powerful, and dangerous, but limited in range. Avoid at all costs shooting in the direction of an ally."

"Besides the capacity, I don't see the advantage." Said Wrex.

"Mr Urdnot," Ashley began, not only hating the alien but angry that he didn't appreciate one of the Alliance Army's main weapon types. "This one has a fully automatic setting. And, while your shotgun could kill any geth you target your weapon at, this one will kill him and anyone unlucky enough to be in the same room. "

Tali was drooling again, this time at the sight of the shotgun. Any hatred of synthetics, and fear of humans and AI was long forgotten.

"No more questions? Good." This time Ashley opened a crate, and picked up what seemed to be an ugly green rifle. "This is," a button press later, and the weapon barrel elongated to double the entire length of the weapon, "the only weapon the Alliance Air Force creates, beside small handguns. The anti-air, anti-vehicle sniper rifle is the Call of Death Mk II. It fires a five thousand degree kelvin wolfram pellet at hyper-sonic velocity. This kills the enemy, and the city behind it. Make sure to check the target opening fire. The reduction of speed and temperature are available in the settings of the weapon."

Garrus, at that moment, had found a new religion. This religion was dedicated to worshipping the Call of Death Mk II.

"Sadly, we did not receive any new handguns. And as such, everyone will have to use the navy standard laser pistol."

"Staff Lieutenant Alenko," EDI began over the hangar speakers, "we are in contact with Admiral Hackett, and commander Shepard refuses to respond. I would consider you to be the appropriate person to speak with him in his current state."

"Current state?" Kaidan could only sigh. 'I'm really not in the mood for Shepard, and these headaches are getting worse'.

"You will see his current state when you assess the situation. Now move, minion."

Normandy, Bar

"Commander," Kaidan began, entering the bar. His mind was frantic with fear for what he might find there.

"Did you ever notice the subtext in Spongebob?" Asked the commander, naked and eating ice-cream.

"I can't say that I was ever a fan of the series..." Kaidan replied, in the hopes that he could stop his boss before he began to ramble.

"He is small, clean and absorbent. He lives in bikini bottom. His best friend is an over-energetic pink thing, and he works at the Krusty Krab. And, if you flip the screen off and look only at his nose and eyes they look like..." Before he could finish he was interrupted by his XO.

"What did you take, commander?" Kaidan asked sternly.

"I know a very nice asari... hooker, in the citadel. She gave me a travel-bag sized quantity of asari... herbal supplements. I was supposed to take something the size of a grain of sand."

"You got high on a grain of herbs?"

"F*ck no! I smoked the entire thing while Ashley was keeping you occupied. Hit some booze, as too."

"Well, you need to get cleaned up and speak with Hackett."

"Scar-face wants to speak to me? Great! I'll have to thank him for the milkshake thing..."

"Forget it. I'll speak with him in your place. You aren't much better when you're sober, and Hackett won't have time to wait."

"I love you, Kaidan. Did you know that?" He opened his arms towards Kaidan, "like a brother. Truly." Kaidan had no choice but to accept the hug. "You can suck my c**k, you idiotic scumbag. Out of my way, I'm making pancakes. With maple syrup." He began to charge out of the bar, but turned and pointed at Kaidan. "Maple syrup!" He shouted, leaving the bar in the nude.

* * *

><p>Normandy, Meeting Room  Communication Room

"Staff lieutenant Alenko reporting for duty, admiral."

"Staff lieutenant? I was expecting the commander," said the admiral with an amused smirk, "let me guess, he's drunk." Without waiting for the usual 'something like that' from Kaidan, he continued, "just like his mother. Drunk all the time off-duty, and ballshit insane on the off-chance she's sober. But when people need her, she's there. Did I ever tell you how I got this scar?"

Surprised that the admiral had started reminiscing, Kaidan didn't feel it was right to change the subject. "No, sir."

"His mother was only a captain, but she had great ambition and desired an admiral's seat. So she challenged me. A one-on-one duel. As the Alliance Navy leader, refusing would've left me with a bad image. So I accepted. What a duel that was! I learned that day not underestimate a Shepard ever again, nearly lost my head. Still kept the scar. 5 weeks later Hannah Shepard became the last person to have a fleet created for her, the 66th" the admiral started telling several stories taking 2 and a half hours before he was interrupted.

"Sir, I appreciate the story, but why did you call?"

"Oh, yes. Benezia's daughter was sighted on the planet Therum, in the Artemis Tau cluster. You should go and retrieve her. She might have information on her mother's location"

"Understood. Anything else, sir?"

"Not really. I need to visit a doctor, to have a look at my memory module. Hackett out."

Normandy, Mess Hall / Kitchen

"Yeah toast!" Shouted the commander, hitting the table and taking another bite from his pancakes.

"What are you doing, commander?" Asked Kaidan, who was in the mess hall to inform his boss about their next assignment.

"Eating pancakes with maple syrup, and singing about toast. Yeah toast!" Shepard replied, still naked.

"Benezia has a daughter, and she's been sighted in the Artemis Tau cluster. We've been asked to go find her" said Kaidan.

"Yes, yes, that's very important. I get that. Tell Joker to take the Normandy out of citadel docking, so we can go and hunt the Yeti." Shepard gazed seriously at Kaidan. "The Yeti will lead us to the one ring. The long lost horcrux of Lord Orochimaru."

"We're still in the docks?"

"Yes. By the way, you will have to clean up my mess. The chef left at the same time as that navigator dude. I'm going to take a nap in the medbay." And with that, Shepard left the remains of his pancakes.

Normandy, Medbay

"Shepard. Nice to see you here." Said the doctor, staring down her nose at her naked superior.

"Karin, I need a full body purge. I need to be ready for a mission soon" said Shepard.

"Sure thing commander. Let me get the crowbar."

"Can I touch your b-" Before he could finish, he was put to sleep by a hypo-syringe.

"I told you I wasn't interested in you, commander. At least, not in that way." Said the doctor to the sleeping Shepard.

The End. Next Up Therum and a small interlude on the citadel.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry for taking this long but I revised the first 5 chapter and that took a lot of time. I also added some ridiculous quotes, some are true in RL, some are true only in the Human mass universe. Hope you like the presentation, I was trying to avoid making a codex for this chapter and make it into a logical version of why the people are informed.<p>

Not really a lot to say, next chapter we get to see a drop of Liara, who I am planing to make as the paragon version to Shepard's insanity.

I await suggestions for more Shepard names because I am nearly out.

Awaiting your reviews or PMs.

Flammers and Trolls allowed on Midgard.


	7. Human Mass VII

Disclaimer: Mass effect belongs to Bioware and/or EA (and not to the author of the fiction) any other elements of this respective fiction belong to their respective owners and not to the author of the fiction.

Warning : Shepard is a bit more insane then usual, bad words censored

**BETA'D: I HAVE A BETA, go and hug The Wistful Bloom and say thanks for fixing the story. A nice fellow named goodpie2 also took a swing at it and did alteration before getting into bloomy's hands **

* * *

><p>"My head..." Shepard groaned, "what the f*ck hit me? Did Chakwas start using crowbars as anaesthetic again?"<p>

"No, Shep," the doctor replied, "I forgot to add something for the pain. And Shepard, you know I would never use a crowbar on a friend."

"Then explain last week."

"I found you drunk and nude in the women's showers, with a big bowl of Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate spiked pudding."

"You ate the pudding after knocking me out. Why the hell do you even have a crowbar with you when taking a shower?" Asked the commander.

"That was not a crowbar," replied the doctor, winking, "and only an idiot would let perfectly good pudding go to waste."

"So... you hit me with your-" The very troubled military officer but was interrupted by Joker on the intercom.

"COMMANDER SHEPARD TO THE HANGER. COMMANDER SHEPARD TO THE HANGAR."

"Damn it, Joker. I had a legitimate opportunity to say d*ldo for the first time in a month. Why did you have stop me? And how did you even know I was awake?" Asked Shepard, with (what he would call) righteous fury.

"EDI told me. I bribed her with a cool bumper sticker to let me do this, and every other announcement in the future. She gets kicks out of me doing the announcements at inappropriate moments." Joker admitted.

"To the Shep-Mobile!" Shepard shouted, exiting the med bay (still nude, but with a lot more dexterity than before his 'nap').

* * *

><p>Back on the citadel, the human ambassador was taking the elevator to visit councilor Tevos for tea.<p>

"We really need to do something about these slow elevators... but every modification done to citadel systems is reverted by the keepers."

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, after finally succeeding in putting on his armor, it was time for Commander Stephan Allen Edgar Shepard to decide who to take with him.<p>

"Since we need to use the MAKO, and it only has three seats, we will have to carefully decide who gets to go down to the planet. The team must be perfectly balanced for maximum efficiency." Said Kaidan.

"Simple. I will go, because I'm in charge here." Shepard replied. "Tali will join me, because she is a kid. And kids need to play with shotguns and have stuff to shoot at." Tali totally agreed with the shooting stuff part. "And Ashley will go, because she has boobs."

"That's sexist, commander." Said the said owner of said chest. "Not to mention, you probably broke dozens of rules by running nude around the ship."

"This ship is under spectre jurisdiction. I can do whatever I want, as long as it doesn't put the galaxy in danger." Said the commander, looking at Ashley. "Should I tell Wrex to gear up and get ready?"

"No!" Ashley snapped, and then she sighed. "I need this. I need to fight the geth again. Please."

"I'm happy to have you with me on this mission." Replied the commander, while thinking that he should add mood swings on the list of possible side-effects for her medication.

Soon, everybody was inside the MAKO and ready to drop.

"All clear, commander. You may begin you descent." Said Joker, opening the cargo doors.

"Understood. Joker, I want you to provide close air support with the laser point defense. This is an eight minute drop, and I don't want us to get shot by any geth airborne divisions."

Tali was getting bored. She had been promised there would be things to shoot (on the ship she hadn't been allowed to shoot anything). In the fifteen minutes since touching down, she hadn't gotten to kill anything, and she was getting impatient. The commander did the driving (very bad and shaky driving), and the human female took the turret, shooting everything in sight. Tali was actually happy when she saw a geth drop ship- it was finally a chance to shoot something. But then the Normandy destroyed the ship before any geth could be deployed.

Finally there was a blocked path, a gate, and turrets. Maybe there would be a chance for Tali to use her shotgun. But those hopes were shot down when Shepard opened the comm link.

"Joker, there's a gate and some big turrets ahead of me. Kill them."

"Right away, commander." The turrets went down almost instantly. Sadly, the gate was much more resistant, and after several minutes all he had succeeded in was creating a big enough hole for them to go through. That was, on foot.

Tali was impressed with her shotgun. Really impressed. The shotgun was as good as it was supposed to be. Better, even.

Soon enough, the MAKO reached the entrance to the mine... after Shepard had blasted a big enough hole in the canyon with every piece of explosive he had.

"Listen up guys," said commander Andrew Eloise Tunguska Shepard. "We'll go into the mine on foot. Since we unfortunately cannot go with the MAKO. Joker, bring the grappling hook online and retrieve it. Have a shuttle standing by at low altitude to retrieve us. "

(AN: the SR2 doesn't have a landing gear and sometimes it might not have a place to land, just look up the size of that ship, and now imagine a mako retrival on Ilos. Yes the mako can lift off to a certain altitude but i can imagine situations where a grappling system might be useful )

Because the Normandy-SR2 could not always find enough space to land and retrieve the MAKO, a special grappling hook was devised to allow for quick retrieval in any situation.

A slow descent into the mine left the team face to face with what Shepard would describe as a lovely asari maiden, trapped in a prothean security field.

"Now... what's a lovely asari like you doing trapped in a blue field this evening?" Said the commander, putting his charming smile on.

"Its morning, commander." Ashley said, but everybody ignored her.

"My name is Liara T'Soni. I am an archaeologist. I've made it my life's goal to find the mysteries behind the disappearance of the protheans. The the greatest enigma in the galaxy. The disappearance of the most enlightened race to walk the stars..." Liara rather easily continued to ramble on about the protheans, and Shepard tuned out fairly quickly.

"So, lovely lady," began the commander, "how did you get trapped in there? And before you begin another lovely lecture, please keep in mind that this enchanting quarian and my human colleague would probably prefer to listen to your lectures in a safer environment."

"When the geth attacked, I hid in here and activated the security systems. I am not sure how much time has passed, but I couldn't stay in here forever."

"Your mother is an accomplice to genocide. Do you know anything about her current location?" Ashley asked.

"Ashley, don't you think we have more pressing things to do than question the lady? Like maybe standard V.I.P extraction protocols?" Asked Shepard.

"The controls to shut down the field down are behind me, if you can find a way around them." Liara told them.

"Damn, I knew I should've packed more explosives in the MAKO." Said the commander, "Tali, prep the shotgun and blast it around the edges of the field to overload it."

"Commander, sonic blasts would surely destabilize the structure. Maybe we could find another way," Ashley warned him, though Tali was already shooting at the edges of the security field.

"Any other option would take too much time. The geth probably found another way and are already en route to the switch." Shepard replied, while the entire structure started to shake. Several blasts later the field collapsed.

"There is an elevator that gets close to the surface over there," said Liara, pointing to a small area in the prothean structure.

Incidentally, the elevator reached the upper tier at the same time that Udina did in on the citadel.

The team was greeted by a krogan battlemaster, and a small number of geth. They opened fire just as Shepard muttered "I told you they were en route." To his human teammates as they returned fire.

"Joker," said the commander, establishing a comm link between shots, "bring the shuttle close to our site. I think this place is about to be exposed to a major incident of the volcanic variety."

"On it, boss."

Defeating the geth and the krogan wasn't that hard, and soon enough they were running to the exit while the entire complex was violently shaking behind them. As the shuttle began moving away from the side, a chunk of molten rock hit the engines. The inner display started showing all kind of alerts and warning messages.

"You're going to crash." Joker warned them, piloting the shuttle via remote control.

"Then do something." Shepard replied, surprisingly calm.

"I am doing all I can, but this shuttle is going down either way. The engines are toast."

"Oh, by the goddess, I can't die like this!" Liara cried out.

"I have an idea, but it will be shaky." Said Joker. "Buckle up. This will either save you, or get you killed faster."

The entire shuttle started shaking even worse than before. Ashley turned off her internal speaker, and was screaming without being heard. Tali was praying to the patron spirit of the survivors of violent crashes, a turian spirit, but still one that had lots of miracles attributed to him. A loud clang could be heard above the shuttle, and then they were caught in a vicious upward acceleration.

"Joker, what the f*ck!" The commander shouted, losing his calm.

"I was piloting the shuttle with one hand and getting the Normandy in place with the other, while EDI got you with the grappling hook. We'll keep you at high altitude for a few mintues to chill any pieces of molten rock there might be left on the shuttle's hull, and then we'll bring you inside."

* * *

><p>On the citadel, life was continuing as normal; the asari councilor and the human ambassador were drinking tea and discussing the state of the galaxy.<p>

"The batarian civil war is going well," said Udina, "or at least as well as a civil war can go. I think we will be seeing a stabilized anti-slave government soon. "

"This is good to hear. Slavery is a disgusting practice," said Tevos, taking a sip of tea, "but there is something I must ask. When you proposed for the batarians to ban all non-batarian slaves, what did you have in mind?"

"They were never going to accept my proposal," said Udina. Tevos seemed a bit surprised. "Don't look at me like that, you knew they would reject my offer of peace the moment I made it. But that's the point- the history books will say I was the one willing to settle for peace, to reasonably change things one step at the time."

"So you made an offer they couldn't accept, just for future publicity?"

"My dear, I am human. Eternal and unlimited. The distant future of the citadel is the near future of the human race."

"Sometimes, I envy your long lives. I will, eventually, die. And you will still here in a thousand years, drinking tea with my replacement. Most likely, humanity will already have a seat on the council by then, and you will try to find a way to dominate the entire council." Tevos, smiled. "When we compare the lives of an asari and a human, I can understand what the salarian must feel."

"I wouldn't be so sure of your mortality. The asari mind is not so different from a human's. Maybe one day you could, I don't know, transfer your mind into a cloned human body, and retire on Thessia. Or, perhaps, Earth."

"That sounds like a reasonable goal for the future." The asari councilor smiled conspiratorially.

And nobody in the room noticed the several STG listening devices that were transmitting their entire meeting. And nobody in STG noticed that the transmission was intercepted and altered several times before reaching the receiver.

When the leader of the cell read the transcript and forwarded the report, the document contained expressions like 'cold relations between them', 'nothing of interest discussed', and 'salarian intervention suggested to avoid the failed tea meeting to spill into intra-galactic politics'.

* * *

><p>The team was getting out of the still-cooling shuttle.<p>

"This will need a replacement. Even I couldn't bring it back into working condition..." Said Tali, looking at the destruction from the exterior.

"Then I guess we will have to get a new one," said Shepard, thinking for a bit. "We could either get to the closest human base to get one, or we could ask for the replacement to be delivered at the citadel and get wasted in a bar."

"Shouldn't we have a team debriefing?" Asked Ashley.

"No, everybody take half an hour to get the armor off. EDI will compile a report and send it to the council while I get T'Soni to be checked by Chakwas." Said Shepard, carrying the asari to the medbay.

Liara was now feeling the after-effects of a substance similar to human adrenaline that kept her going ever since she noticed the team that saved her. It was nothing too serious, but all of the nutrients in her bloodstream had been rapidly consumed in the last thirty minutes.

A blue banana bag (which Shepard insisted on calling mana elixir) later, Liara was feeling fresh and ready to run a marathon.

"I feel ready to run a marathon." Doctor T'Soni said, even though she had no idea what a marathon was, but had felt compelled to say it.

"Then lets get you to the debriefing."

So she got up from the bed and decided to follow Shepard. She had to admit, (lack of manners aside), he seemed like a really nice guy. Maybe the debriefing would contain an introduction to the crew, so she could learn a few names.

* * *

><p>Everybody was now in the conference room, nicely arranged around the table. Shepard had the spot next to the door saved for him so he could make dramatic entrances and exists.<p>

"Alright, miss T'Soni," began Shepard, when he was interrupted by a small "you may call me Liara".

"Okay, Liara. Let introduce everyone here first. We have Kaidan, he's a bit square, but he's a great guy. This is Ashley, who obviously doesn't like you. The quarian is Tali. The krogan is Wrex. And the turian who looks like he has a stick up his ass is Garrus."

"What about you?" Asked the curious asari, as she still didn't know his name.

"I prefer to be called Shepard. But you can call me John when we're in private. Just you and me." He finished with a wink.

"Our mission is to bring Saren and his accomplices to justice." Kaidan continued from where Shepard left off, "your mother is with him. So, we were wondering if might you know anything that would lead us to her."

"Or to the conduit," said Shepard, after noticing the asari's confused expression. "The conduit is supposed to be a prothean weapon of great power. I had data from a prothean beacon basically downloaded into my head. Every time I close my eyes, I can see the protheans dying, hopelessly outmatched against a superior foe. Saren wants to bring back the destroyers of the protheans."

"I don't know anything about the location of my mother," said Liara, "the last time I heard from her, she said something about protecting me from humans. As for the conduit, I am an expert in protheans. We could try to mind meld, and I will see what I can make from your memories."

"I am totally up for that," responded the commander, "but we should do it in a more private environment. Imagine what would happen if you had an anemic episode and fainted on me. This way, you might have a softer landing. Much better than the cold hard floor.".

"Is there anything else that anyone here wants to bring forward?" Asked Kaidan, but he got no reply.

One by one everybody left the room, leaving only Shepard and Liara.

"We are alone... John. How about you show me to your room so we can-" Liara began, but was interrupted by Joker.

"Commander, the citadel council wants to talk with you."

The table slowly sank into the floor, the seats folded and moved into the walls, the lights dimmed and the entire room became a holo-deck. Three figures appeared in front of them.

"We are deeply disturbed by the results of your actions, commander." Said the salarian. "Priceless prothean ruins, containing samples of working technology were destroyed."

"A force-field that was still working after fifty thousand years." Said the turian, "and the power supplying it alone would have revolutionized the citadel space. Some would wonder if you didn't do that intentionally".

"We are deeply disappointed by your results." Said Tevos

"What about the incident with the refinery? Where Saren killed so many innocent people? And, despite this, you still considered him your top agent." The commanded retorted.

"I don't think you should be pointing out similarities between the two of you." Said the salarian.

"Shepard did everything right. He is a paragon of justice and fairness," Liara chimed in, "he did everything right, and yet is still accused of harbouring evil intentions."

Twenty minutes later, Liara was reaching the conclusion of another lecture. "And this is why he is the shining beacon of light to guide this galaxy back to the greatness of the fallen prothean"

'Seems that she has a tendency to give long speeches... at least this time she had a very good subject.' Shepard thought.

'Another asari that favors the humans, more and more seem to appear every year', thought Tevos. "I would like to thank you for the passionate lecture, doctor T'Soni. I hope you will find happiness. Now, if you will excuse us, I think we need to look over some laws about increasing taxes on volus."

With that, the connection was turned off.

"Now, how about we go to my bedroom and do that mind meld?"

"It would be my pleasure, John." Liara replied with a knowing smile.

The end.

Next on Human Mass side-missions, chillaxing on the citadel and some more repercussions of Therum.

* * *

><p>AN: Still alive and this fic goal is still to inject new ideas into Mass Effect fan fiction hopefully helping other authors who are better then me at writing but need to borrow an idea or two.<p>

Hope you liked the ingenious ideas in this chapter : the grappling thingy and the council not happy with the destruction of the ruins, bribing the asari (immortality is a good bribe, i want double immortality), the force-field taken by other means (also why didn't the geth or that krogan arrive earlier ?). Also that force-field could've been taken out by other means like having an AI hacking it, explosives, going the other way around and maybe and a super biotic charging it.

Also i have been hammering a few other not commune ideas : Joker interrupting people, Joker actually showing people why he is considered to be the best pilot, an actually smart Udina and competent secret services ( CIA and STG ).


End file.
